Trump announces UAE will establish diplomatic ties with Israel

NEW YORK, Aug 13 (APP): US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel had agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The announcement makes the UAE the first Persian Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel. The two others are Egypt and Jordan.

In a surprise statement released by the White House, the two governments said the agreement was reached during a call Thursday between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

The joint statement said the countries “agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.”

“This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region,” the joint statement read. “All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from today’s historic achievement.”

Trump said Israel and the UAE would sign a string of bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, security, technology, energy and other areas while moving to allow direct flights between their countries and set up reciprocal embassies in each other’s nation.

The Israeli prime minister reposted a tweet from Trump announcing the agreement and added, in Hebrew: “A historic day.”

In a statement of his own, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo compared the agreement to the peace treaties Israel forged decades ago with Egypt and Jordan. “Today’s normalization agreement between Israel and the Emirates holds similar potential and the promise for a better day for the entire region,” he said.

The White House announcement came several weeks after Netanyahu announced a new partnership with the UAE to cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus, portraying it as a breakthrough, only to be embarrassed with the Emiratis issued a much more limited statement just hours later describing an agreement between private companies.

While Thursday’s deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

“Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it’s been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation,” senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi wrote on Twitter.

She also said the UAE had come forward with its “secret dealings/normalization with Israel”. “Please don’t do us a favour. We are nobody’s fig leaf!” she wrote.