Israel, UAE to normalize relations in shift in Mideast politics; West
Bank
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[August 14, 2020]
By Maha El Dahan, Jeffrey Heller and Steve Holland
DUBAI/JERUSALEM/
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move
that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian
issue to the fight against Iran.
Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker,
Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied
West Bank. It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the
UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the
conflict-riven Middle East.
Israel had signed peace agreements with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in
1994. But the UAE, along with most other Arab nations, did not recognise
Israel and had no formal diplomatic or economic relations with it until
now. It becomes the first Gulf Arab country to reach such a deal with
the Jewish state.
Officials from the three countries called the accord "historic" and a
breakthrough toward peace. But Palestinian leaders, apparently taken by
surprise, denounced it as a "stab in the back" to their cause.
A joint statement said Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had "agreed to
the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab
Emirates".
The accord will allow the two countries "to chart a new path that will
unlock the great potential in the region," it said.
Israel and the UAE are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and
embassies. A signing ceremony is due to be held at the White House.
"As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of
President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel
will suspend declaring sovereignty" over areas of the West Bank as
envisioned in a U.S. plan announced by Trump in January, it said.
The agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accord, also gives Trump a
foreign policy accomplishment as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3.
Speaking in the White House Oval Office, Trump said similar deals are
being discussed with other countries in the region.
Trump said the agreement unites "two of America's closest and most
capable partners in the region" and represents "a significant step
towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East."
The UAE said it would remain a strong supporter of the Palestinian
people, who hope to create an independent state in the occupied West
Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and that the agreement maintained the
viability of a two-state solution to the longstanding Israel-Palestinian
conflict.
The accord could also be a personal boost to Netanyahu, who is on trial
for alleged corruption and whose domestic popularity has dropped over
his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a televised address, Netanyahu said the deal would lead to "full and
formal peace" with the UAE and voiced hope that other countries in the
region would follow its example. It also entailed acceding to a request
from Trump to "temporarily wait" on implementing his annexation pledge,
Netanyahu said.
"It's an incomparably exciting moment, a historic moment for peace in
the Middle East," Netanyahu added.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, however, rejected the accord.
Spokesman Abu Rudeineh, reading from a statement outside Abbas's
headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank, said it was a "betrayal of
Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa (mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine) and the
Palestinian cause".
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President Donald Trump announces that Israel and the United Arab
Emirates have reached a peace deal that will lead to the full
normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern
nations in an agreement that Trump helped broker, at White House in
Washington, U.S., August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Asked if the Palestinian leadership had been aware the deal was
coming, veteran negotiator Hanan Ashrawi told Reuters: "No. We were
blindsided. ... It is a complete sell-out."
In Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the armed Islamist group
Hamas, said: "Normalisation is a stab in the back of the Palestinian
cause and it serves only the Israeli occupation."
The UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed said the agreement would stop
further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, for which
Israel had been awaiting a green light from Washington.
Senior UAE official Anwar Gargash said the deal had helped defuse
what he called a ticking time-bomb. Gargash urged the Israelis and
Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.
'NIGHTMARE' FOR IRAN
Trump's special envoy Brian Hook called the agreement a "nightmare"
for Iran. An Iranian official said the agreement would not secure
peace in the region.
Railing against "criminal Israel", Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a
special adviser to Iran's parliamentary speaker, said in a tweet:
"Abu Dhabi's behaviour has no justification, turning back on the
Palestine cause. W/ that strategic mistake, #UAE will be engulfed in
Zionism fire."
Iran and Israel are arch foes. Israel is particularly concerned
about suspected Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons, which
Tehran denies. Iran is also involved in proxy wars from Syria to
Yemen, where the UAE has been a leading member of the Saudi-led
coalition opposing Iran-aligned forces there.
With a population of less than 10 million but the Arab world's
second-largest economy thanks to oil, the UAE has exerted growing
commercial and military clout in the Gulf and the wider region over
the past two decades, much of it aimed at confronting Islamist
militants and the influence of Iran.
Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in
the coming weeks to sign agreements regarding investment, tourism,
direct flights, security, telecommunications and other issues, the
joint statement said.
"Everybody said this would be impossible," Trump said.
"Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim
countries will follow the United Arab Emirates' lead," Trump added.
This was already being discussed with other states, he said.
(Reporting By Maha El Dahan, Lisa Barrington and Parisa Hafezi,
Steve Holland in Washington; Jeff Heller in Jerusalem, Writing by
Angus MacSwan; Editing by Will Dunham)
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