On Tuesday, President Trump was joined by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to sign agreements establishing formal relations. Referred to as the “Abraham Accords” (after the patriarch Abraham of the world’s three monotheistic religions), the UAE and Bahrain will establish diplomatic relations, open business, and direct flights between the countries. This will make them the third and fourth Arab countries to recognize Israel, after Egypt and Jordan in 1978 and 1994, respectively.
Overlooking the South Lawn of the White House, Trump referred to the historic accords as marking a “dawn of a new Middle East.” Without naming specific countries, he asserted that five to six other countries were close to making similar deals, considering Israel to not be “isolated” anymore. Some of these countries are speculated to be Oman, Sudan, and Morocco. Saudi Arabia is another hopeful on the list, as both the UAE and Bahrain are allies of the country. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is regional rivals with Iran, a background likely considered in the diplomatic agreements. With these factors in mind, its response will be closely watched in the coming days/weeks.
The agreements signed between Israel and Bahrain were considered to be more broad, with more general pledges to push for diplomacy, along with mutual cooperation, and regional peace. In contrast, the agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates involve 15 areas of cooperation, including trade, aviation, telecommunications, and agriculture.
Several Democrats attended the White House event, such as Representative Elaine Luria (D-VA), who says she accepted the invitation over the weekend after immediately receiving it. In addition, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden endorsed the deal, releasing a statement that a Biden-Harris administration “will build on these steps.” This bipartisan support arrives at a time of staunch polarization in the United States, possibly further elevating the validity of the deal.
The accords had little, if anything, to say about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including Israel’s plans to annex the West Bank. Even so, Palestine has condemned the agreements, considering them “dangerous betrayals.” As the UAE has emphasized the importance of Palestinian statehood in the past, the country sees the deal as going back on a promise not to engage further with Israel until this goal is achieved.
The deal also comes mere days before an unpopular second lockdown is to be imposed on Israel. Coupled with being on trial for corruption charges, Prime Minister Netanyahu could receive an image boost from the event. The same goes for President Trump, who is running for re-election on November 3rd, and could use the event to bolster his image as well.
Several have commented that the deal could change the whole course of the Middle East.
When Trump removed the US from the accord between US/China/Russia and the rest of the UN Security Council limiting Iran’s nuclear development and affording inspections he did two things. One, he made the US, the countries in the Middle East and the whole world less safe. He also made the Sunni/Shia split more troubled. This may, or may not, develop into a desire by some countries in the Middle East to join with the only nuclear power known to reject, to the point of going to war, Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The removal of constraints on Iran’s nuclear development did not make the world, the Middle East. or Irael safer.