Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to normalise relations, US President Donald Trump has announced. A joint statement by Mr Trump, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan said they hoped the “historic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East”.
As a result, they added, Israel would suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Until now Israel has had no diplomatic relations with Gulf Arab countries. However, shared concerns over Iran’s regional influence have led to unofficial contacts between them.In response to President Trump’s announcement, Mr Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew: “Historic day.” The UAE’s ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, said it was “a win for diplomacy and for the region”.
But a senior Palestinian official, Hanan Ashrawi, condemned the deal, saying the UAE had “come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalisation with Israel” and telling Prince Mohammed: “May you never be sold out by your ‘friends’.” It marks only the third Israel-Arab peace deal since Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948. Egypt signed one in 1979, and Jordan in 1994.
In the coming weeks delegations from Israel and the UAE will meet to sign bilateral deals regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit. Israel will also “suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined” in President Trump’s Vision for Peace between Israel and the Palestinians, in which he backed an Israeli plan to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley.
Source: BBC
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