WATCH: ‘Six more Arab states ready to make peace’ as Israel and UAE sign treaty

Israeli prime minister agrees two historic accords with Gulf neighbours

By JTA
15 September 2020, 5:44 pm
Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Bahrain, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel, U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates sign papers during the Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony at The White House on Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras/SIPA USA)

Israel signed peace treaties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at the White House on Tuesday, with President Donald Trump calling the moment the “dawn of a new Middle East.”

Details about the separate treaties have yet to be disclosed, but they broadly normalise relations between the two Arab countries and Israel, including the opening of embassies in each of the nations for the first time.

The UAE and Bahrain join Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel.

Trump signed the agreements along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the foreign ministers of the two Arab nations, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE and Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa of Bahrain.

During the ceremony, he said: “We have many nations ready to follow” and make peace with Israel.

He says there are “at least five or six countries coming along very quickly.

Netanyahu said at the South Lawn ceremony that the agreements “will eventually expand to include other Arab states, and ultimately it can end the Arab- Israeli conflict once and for all,” though he did not specifically mention the Palestinians.

United States President Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and his wife Sara, to the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, September 15, 2020. Netanyahu is in Washington to sign the Abraham Accords, a peace treaty with the State of Israel.
Credit: Chris Kleponis / Pool via CNP | usage worldwide

In conjunction with the agreement, the United States has reportedly assured the UAE that Israel would pause West Bank annexation efforts until at least 2024.

The UAE wants to purchase F-35 advanced fighter jets from the United States, which has a legal obligation to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge. Israel has ordered 50 of the planes.

Netanyahu has denied that he agreed to the sale in order to achieve the agreement and leading Democratic lawmakers have come out against the plan.

“Today, we are already witnessing a change at the heart of the Middle East, a change that will send hope around the world,” the UAE’s foreign minister said.

As he spoke, rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Israel. Palestinian leaders have expressed outrage at the Arab countries for abandoning the Palestinians’ fight for an independent state.

Read the Times of Israel’s Live Blog here: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-september-15-2020/

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