WASHINGTON – Israel signed historic diplomatic pacts with two Persian Gulf states on Tuesday in a White House rite that President Donald Trump said would “usher in a new Middle East. “
Bilateral agreements formalize the normalization of Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in accordance with their unusual opposition to Iran.
Hundreds of others piled up on the south lawn to witness the signing of agreements marking the third and fourth Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel, and the first since Jordan made its way in 1994, after Egypt in 1979.
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“We’re here this afternoon to replace the course of history,” Trump said from a balcony overlooking the south garden. “After decades of department and conflict, we marked the beginning of a new Middle East. “
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the day “is an axis of history. It presages a new peace. “
Foreign Ministers from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain spoke of the importance of creating a Palestinian state.
The Emirati foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, brother of the tough crown prince of Abu Dhabi, thanked Netanyahu for “stopping the annexation” of the West Bank lands claimed through the Palestinians, which was done in exchange for the recognition of the Emirati. Netanyahu, however, insisted that Israel had only suspended its plans to annex West Bank settlements.
“Today we are already witnessing a replacement in the middle of the Middle East, a replacement that will send hope to everyone,” al-Nahyan said.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani said Bahrain will support the Palestinians: “Today is a historic occasion in fact,” he said, “a moment of hope and opportunity. “
In Jerusalem, the government dropped the flags of the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on the walls of the Old City.
But in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants fired two rockets at Israel, which was supposed to coincide with the ceremony. The Israeli army said the rockets were fired from Gaza and one was intercepted through air defenses. Wizard David Adom, the Israeli emergency service, said he treated two others for injuries caused by damaged glass.
Early in the day, Palestinian activists staged small protests in the West Bank and Gaza, where photographs of Trump, Netanyahu and leaders from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain trampled and burned.
In Qatar, Al-Jazeera cited a Palestinian Authority official describing the firm as a “sad day. “
“The way to peace for the Palestinians is to end this brutal Israeli profession and grant Palestinians their inalienable rights to self-determination. Without it, there is no sign of peace in the region,” Al-Jazeera said. citing Ammar Hijazi, Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, as he said.
Israel and the United States hope that the agreements can usher in a major replacement in the region if other Arab countries, namely Saudi Arabia, adhere to the measure. This may have implications for Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
When asked about Saudi Arabia, Trump said he had been in common contact with King Salman and that “at the right time, they will enter. “
A White House attributed the agreements to “Trump’s foreign policy vision and willingness as a negotiator. “
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But the countries involved, Trump said Tuesday, “had to make that selection themselves. “
OFFERS DETAILS
Other Arab countries suspected of being about to detect Israel are Oman, Sudan and Morocco.
“We are very complex with five other countries,” Trump told reporters before the ceremony.
Many long-time analysts in the Middle East and former officials, others, have expressed doubts about the effects of firms.
In addition to bilateral agreements signed through Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the three signed a document called “Abraham’s Agreements” named after the patriarch of the world’s 3 monotheists religions.
The Abrahamic Agreements and the bilateral agreement signed through Israel and Bahrain have resulted in more detailed formal treaties that are the diplomatic norm. Both documents were composed of general declarations promising to promote diplomacy, mutual cooperation and regional peace.
The most detailed agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, countries agreed to approve bilateral agreements in 15 areas of mutual interest, adding finance, trade, aviation, energy, telecommunications, health, agriculture and water.
During the signing ceremony, the leaders sat at a long table where President Harry S. Truman used to have weekly lunches with his office. Discussions on the Truman Doctrine to curb Soviet expansion, the Cold War, and the Marshall Plan to send billions of dollars in economic spending. aid to Western Europe after World War II took a position at the table.
In addition to Republicans, some House Democrats attended the event. Many Democrats, adding presidential candidate Joe Biden, the agreements.
Representative Elaine Luria, a Democrat from Virginia, stated that she accepted the invitation without delay after receiving it over the weekend. “It’s definitely a monumental event, and the rite is very suitable for that,” said Luria, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. , he said in a later phone interview.
Like Luria, other Democrats present, like Rep. Anthony Brindisi of New York, are freshmen in re-election races. Others, like Representatives Ted Deutch and Stephanie Murphy of Florida, come from districts with large numbers of Jewish voters.
HIGH QUESTIONS
However, questions remain about the scope of the agreements. Even in Israel, where the deals have been widely praised, there are fears that they will result in complicated arms sales through the United States to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, potentially upsetting the qualitative merit of the Israeli military in the region.
Trump has said he will sell army aircraft to the United Arab Emirates. Pelosi welcomed the agreements, but said he wanted to know more, that is, what Trump’s management told the United Arab Emirates about the acquisition of U. S. -made F-35 aircraft and the Israel deal. to freeze efforts to annex parts of the West Bank.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have a history of suppressing dissent and critical public opinion, yet there are indications that the agreements are as popular or well-won as in Israel.
Bahrain’s largest Shiite-dominated opposition group, Al-Wefaq, whose government ordered its dissolution in 2016 amid a year-long crackdown on dissent, said there was widespread rejection of normalization with Israel.
The rite followed months of international relations led by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and the president’s envoy for foreign negotiations, Avi Berkowitz. On 13 August, the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was announced. This followed the first direct advertising flight between the countries and the announcement on Friday of the Agreement between Bahrain and Israel.
Neither the United Arab Emirates nor Bahrain is nor has they ever been at war with Israel, so the documents are not dealt with for peace in the formal sense, but until now, the two Persian Gulf states had officially illegitimate Israel.
Trump predicted the Palestinians would come aboard. ” Obviously, we’re talking to them,” he said, even when he recalled that his management cut $750 million in investment for the Palestinians because they “treat America so badly. “
“This is a solution to the conflict, not peace, it’s an industry deal,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a pro-Israel liberal defense organization that harshly criticizes Netanyahu. “It is very, very transparent that there are aligned interests between Israel and those countries – military, security, diplomatic, economic – and those interests have existed for two decades. “
TALK TO IRAN
Trump greeted the three Oval Office leaders before the signing ceremony. While sitting there with Netanyahu, he expressed his preference for success in an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. Previously in Trump’s management, he withdrew the United States from an agreement with Tehran. had succeeded in managing Obama to reduce Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Trump said he had been in communication with Iranian officials and told them that “you have to wait to see [America’s] election first. “Trump also said that “there’s nothing about Array . . . Iran would like to see Sleepy Joe Biden elected more than elected. “”
But “I’m going to get a much better deal, ” he said, predicting his own victory. “Iran will be very and very fast. “
Tuesday’s occasion gave the impression of being a twenty-five-year occasion in the same position when then-President Bill Clinton negotiated an agreement, and an iconic handshake, between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “There will be peace in the Middle East,” a word suggesting a solution to Israel’s confrontation with the Palestinians.
But Dennis Ross, a former Middle East peace negotiator who helped negotiate the 1993 agreement, said the two occasions were “very different. “He said the agreements signed Tuesday were “significant” because they demonstrated that “Palestinians freeze the region and save open cooperation with Israel. “
The information for this article was provided through Deb Riechmann, Matthew Lee, Jonathan Lemire, Aya Batrawy, Laurie Kellman and Joseph Krauss of the Associated Press; through Karen DeYoung, Anne Gearan, Ruth Eglash and Felicia Sonmez of The Washington Post; and through Michael Crowley of The New York Times.