Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser, speaks at a news conference at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Thursday, August 13, 2020.
Oliver Contreras | Sipa | Bloomberg via Getty Images
A deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize diplomatic ties should be taken as a “historic step”, despite the lack of support from Saudi Arabia, according to senior White House adviser and US President-in-law Donald Trump’s sister-in-law Jared Kushner.
During the announcement Thursday that the U.S. was assisting brokers, Israel agreed to suspend plans to annex some areas of the occupied West Bank. It also supports opposition to Iran, a regional power in the Middle East that the US, Israel and the United Arab Emirates all consider to be the biggest threat to stability.
Saudi Arabia, a close US ally and a very influential power when it comes to regional policy regarding Israel, has remained strangely silent on news of the agreement.
“I think we have other countries that are very interested in moving forward,” Kushner told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in an exclusive interview on Friday, referring to diplomatic ties with Israel.
“And then, as that progresses, I think it’s an inevitability that Saudi Arabia and Israel will have fully normalized relations and they can do a lot of great things together,” he added.
When pressed for the silence of Saudi Arabia following the announcement of the deal, Kushner replied: “We just had the first peace agreement in 26 years and now you say, ‘Well, we want to get someone else on board right away.’ . ” In 1994, Israel and Jordan agreed to a peace treaty.
“Saudi Arabia has apparently been a major leader in making (modernizing), but you can not stay a battleship overnight,” he added.
The deal makes the United Arab Emirates the first Persian Gulf state to normalize ties with Israel and only the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have open diplomatic ties with the country.
On Thursday, Trump described the agreement as an “enormous breakthrough” between two “great friends” of the US, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move could pave the way for other Arab countries to join. sign up for the agreement.
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister, Anwar Gargash, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Thursday that the peace treaty was a “win-win” solution.
The European Union also welcomed the move, saying it would likely help promote stability in the region.
However, the agreement has been dismissed by officials in Palestine, Iran and Turkey. The Palestinian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates was recalled shortly after the announcement.
Kushner said in a press release on Thursday that Palestine’s condemnation of the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was “fairly predictable.”
Palestine has repeatedly called on Arab leaders not to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel until a peace treaty to establish an independent Palestinian state is secured.
Peace deal does not ‘change’ election dynamics
For some, the deal is seen as a win for foreign policy for Trump, who is behind in the polls against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for the November election.
Trump has made peace in the Middle East as a signature element of his first term, although his administration has not made much substantial progress.
“I think what we have done is that we have set the stage for a lot of progress in the region by looking at it based on common sense, pragmatism, and common interests and a common vision for a better future,” Kushner said Friday.
“We have taken some of the old tumors that have infected the region and we have reduced them in recent years,” he added, saying “everything we have done has been rational.”
Ayham Kamel, head of the Middle East and North Africa practice at Eurasia Group, said in a note: “For Trump, the deal goes straight to the power of Joe Biden. The president will trumpet that he is a diplomat breakthrough achieved by the Obama / Biden administration. “
“The announcement (of the deal) does not change our perceptions of the election dynamics, which are dominated by the economy and coronavirus. The announcement will stir up the Evangelical Christian community at the Trump base, but would probably not having a very appealing effect, ”Camel added.
Biden praised the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates without mentioning Trump administration officials.
“The unification of Israel and the Arab states builds on the efforts of multiple administrations to promote a wider Arab-Israeli opening, including the efforts of the Obama-Biden administration to build on the Arab Peace Initiative,” he said. in a statement.
– Natasha Turak and Tucker Higgins of CNBC have contributed to this report.
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