From the BBC:
“Trump hails 'dawn of new
Middle East' with UAE-Bahrain-Israel deals”
US President Donald Trump has
hailed the "dawn of a new Middle East", amid Israel's landmark deals
with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. Mr Trump spoke as the two Gulf
states signed agreements fully normalising their relations with Israel. The
three countries hailed the deals as historic, as did Mr Trump, whose
administration helped broker them. The Gulf states are just the third and
fourth Arab countries to recognise Israel since its founding in 1948. Mr Trump
hopes other countries will follow suit, but the Palestinians have urged them
not to while their conflict remains unsolved. For decades, most Arab states
have boycotted Israel, insisting they would only establish ties after Israel's
dispute with the Palestinian was settled. "After decades of division and
conflict we mark the dawn of a new Middle East," Mr Trump told a crowd of
hundreds gathered at the White House on Tuesday. "We're here this
afternoon to change the course of history," he added. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the deals, saying, "This day is a
pivot of history; it heralds a new dawn of peace." But Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas said only an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories could
bring peace to the Middle East. "Peace, security and stability will not be
achieved in the region until the Israeli occupation ends," he said in a
statement after the signing of the deals, AFP news agency reports. The Israeli
army said that two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel while the
ceremony was under way.
Why are these agreements being
hailed as 'historic'? Before the UAE and Bahrain, the only other Arab
countries in the Middle East to recognise Israel officially were Egypt and
Jordan, who signed peace treaties in 1978 and 1994 respectively. Mauritania,
a member of the Arab League in north-west Africa, established diplomatic
relations with Israel in 1999 but severed ties in 2010. All eyes will be
on whether other countries in the region follow suit, above all Saudi Arabia.
So far, the Saudis have signalled that they are not ready. The
agreements are also likely to usher in new security ties in a region where many
of the Gulf Arab states share with the Israelis a common adversary in Iran.
A significant achievement These
agreements represent the most significant diplomatic achievement of the Trump
Administration. Persuading two Arab states to engage in this kind of
rapprochement with Israel - without a solution to the Palestinian question -
marks a significant move for pan-Arab unity. The specific details of the
agreements are not yet public, but there will be embassies, commercial deals
and the opening of travel links between the countries. Mr Trump even
suggested five other Arab states were "far down the road" towards
finalising similar arrangements. But the agreements have been condemned
by the Palestinian leadership as a "black day" for the region.
Developments on the ground in the occupied West Bank and Gaza could still
derail these new relationships.
Why have Palestinians
condemned the deals? The Palestinians have said the agreements are
dangerous betrayals. They believe the moves by the Gulf countries renege on a
promise by Arab states not to embrace ties with Israel until Palestinian
statehood is achieved. The UAE has said progress on Palestinian
statehood is central, and that their agreement included a promise from Israel
to "suspend" its controversial plan to annex key parts of the
occupied West Bank that were allocated to it by President Trump under the
Middle East peace plan he unveiled in January. The Palestinians rejected
Mr Trump's proposals as biased towards Israel and warned that annexation would
destroy their hopes of a viable future independent state and violate
international law - a stance supported by much of the international community.
The UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs told the BBC that it had
sensed an "opportunity" when Mr Netanyahu signalled he would press
ahead with annexation earlier this year. "Everybody was worried
about the annexation of Palestinian lands, which was really a threat to the
viability of the two-state solution," Anwar Gargash said. "And
I think this sort of brought our plans forward and gave us a reason, a clear reason
and clear rationale, why a decision that we would have taken in 2021 or 2022
should be taken now." Mr Gargash said he did not believe Mr
Netanyahu or another Israeli leader would be likely to renege on the promise to
suspend the annexation plans. The UAE has called on the Palestinian
leadership to use this moment to reorganise its approach and prepare to
re-engage in productive discussions with Israel. In a statement issued
after he attended the ceremony at the White House, former UK Prime Minister Tony
Blair said the deals were "a massive and welcome opportunity to recast the
politics of the region". He said he understood Palestinian
objections but that "in time, the Palestinian people will understand that
it is only by radically changing strategy that the legitimate aspirations for a
viable Palestinian state can be realised".
What's the background? There
is a backdrop of the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran in these
diplomatic moves. The decades-old feud between them is exacerbated by
religious differences. They each follow one of the two main branches of Islam -
Iran is largely Shia Muslim, while Saudi Arabia sees itself as the leading
Sunni Muslim power. The UAE and Bahrain are both Saudi allies. Saudi
Arabia's response will be watched closely. There is no indication yet it is
ready to follow Bahrain and the UAE. Prior to the announcement of the
UAE agreement in August - which included the suspension of Israel's
controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank - Israel had had
no diplomatic relations with Gulf Arab countries. Last month saw the
first official flight from Israel to the UAE, which was seen as a major step in
normalising relations. President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser
Jared Kushner, who was on the plane, described the UAE deal as having "the
ability to change the whole course of the Middle East".
^ It’s Official!!!! Until today
there were only 2 Peace Treaties between Arab countries and Israel (Egypt and
Israel in 1979 and Jordan and Israel in 1994.) Now we have four with the United
Arab Emirates and Israel and Bahrain and Israel. Most Arab countries still
officially call for the complete destruction of Israel - many enshrined into
law. No matter what you think you can't deny that this is historic and done
because of the United States. Kosovo and Serbia have also just made Peace Deals
- with the help of the US - (Kosovo was
part of Serbia until the UN stepped-in after the Kosovar Massacres and Serbia
still claimed Kosovo until this Peace Deal.) Kosovo and Israel also just
recognized each other with the help of the US. 4 Diplomatic Wins for the US in 2020 alone. ^
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