[ad_1]
The Palestinian question has hampered the construction of an Arab-Jewish dialogue for seven decades. So far, the countries of the Middle East have shown solidarity with Palestine.
Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a landmark agreement at the White House. In exchange for establishing diplomatic relations with the two Arab states, Tel Aviv abandoned plans to occupy the Palestinian West Bank of the Jordan.
Palestine has declared a “black day”. Three dozen predominantly Muslim countries do not recognize Israel out of solidarity with the Palestinians, and the main postwar conflict has been going on for more than a decade. Correspondent.net says the details.
A historic day for the Middle East
On August 15, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain formalized the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel. In a ceremony at the White House, US President Donald Trump announced a “historic day for peace in the Middle East” and presented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a symbolic key to the White House.
“You have the key to the heart of the people of Israel,” Netanyahu replied, accepting the gift. The president of the United States, in turn, responded that this key is peace in the Middle East “without blood on the sand.”
During the ceremony, held in the presence of hundreds of guests, three documents were signed:
-
Treaty of Peace, Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Total Normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates;
-
Declaration on Peace, Cooperation and Constructive Diplomatic and Friendly Relations between Israel and Bahrain;
-
The Abrahamic Agreement, which is named after the patriarch of the world’s three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
They are all signed by Trump.
The latest agreement refers to the importance of “maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and throughout the world on the basis of mutual understanding and coexistence.” By signing it, the parties commit to “ending radicalization and conflict.”
Trump previously said that direct dialogue between these countries “will contribute to a positive transformation” of the Middle East and “increase the stability, security and prosperity of the region,” while the Israeli prime minister described the rapprochement as a “new era of peace. “.
“We are gathered here today to change the course of history. After decades of division and conflict, we are celebrating the dawn of a new Middle East,” Trump said at the ceremony.
The pathos of these words is not superfluous: the agreements really have an innovative character. So far, Israel has established official diplomatic relations with only two Arab countries.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the third and fourth Arab states to establish diplomatic relations with Israel after Egypt and Jordan (in 1979 and 1994, respectively).
The US president pointed out that “five or six more countries” with which they are already negotiating can continue on their way. But he did not name specific states. Trump later said that he spoke with the king of Saudi Arabia, noting that “at the right time, they can come together.”
Getty
Israeli experts do not exclude that Oman and Sudan may be among the possible signatories, whose representatives, according to media reports, were also present at the White House on Tuesday.
The Palestinian question has been hampering the construction of an Arab-Jewish dialogue for seven decades. So far, Middle Eastern countries have shown solidarity with the Palestinian state in its fight against the Israeli occupation.
The terms of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which presupposes the achievement of peace with Israel and the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict only on the condition that Israel withdraws from the territories annexed by it in 1967 (including the Highlands of the Golan and Shebaa farms) and the state’s recognition of the state, are seen as the red line on the settlement issue for Palestine. Palestine in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with capital in East Jerusalem.
After the signing of agreements at the White House, sirens sounded in settlements on the border with the Gaza Strip and two rockets flew towards Israel.
According to the press service of the Israel Defense Forces, two missiles were launched from the Gaza Strip, one of which was intercepted. Another rocket landed in the center of Ashdod. Two men received injuries of varying severity.
“Our air force responded by attacking Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip, including a weapons and explosives factory and a military base,” the Israeli army said in a statement.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the missile attack. They issued a message saying that the agreement between Israel, Bahrain and the Emirates “is not worth spilling the ink”, noting that they “will continue to fight.”
Importance of contracts for all parties
The rapprochement between Israel and Bahrain with the United Arab Emirates is mainly strategic: they are united by opposition to Iran, which they consider the main violator of stability in the Middle East.
The anti-Iranian agenda found full sympathy in the Trump administration. Shortly after assuming the US presidency, he broke the nuclear deal with Tehran and made containment of the Iranian authorities his top foreign policy priority in the region.
Changes in the foreign policy of Arab countries in relations with Israel were made possible by a new generation of ambitious politicians: the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammad bin Zayed, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, they are ready to change old alliances, carry out reforms, modernize the army and make unusual moves.
BBC News notes that they were the key strategists in the joint campaign in Yemen, where the US-armed armies of the two monarchies are facing off against the Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran.
The deals with Israel would not have come about without the support of Saudi Arabia, experts say. But the recognition of Israel by the kingdom, in which the main Islamic shrines of Mecca and Medina are located, will be a much more serious step, so whether the neighbors of Saudi Arabia will follow suit remains a great unknown.
For Trump, the historic Jewish-Arab deal means upholding the image of the consummate master of bargaining that the American president himself calls himself. A week earlier, Serbia and Kosovo signed a cooperation agreement in the presence of Trump.
Netanyahu hopes to score political points during a difficult period for him: At home, he is accused of an inept fight against the coronavirus and is on trial on corruption charges.
In addition to security, Israel and the Arab states can also benefit from commercial and economic cooperation.
Israelis possess unique technologies in water management and agriculture, which are critical to the Gulf states, notes the Financial Times.
News of Correspondent.net on Telegram. Subscribe to our channel https://t.me/korrespondentnet
