The deal represented a significant political reversal for Netanyahu, who had long pushed for an increase in settlements in the occupied West Bank in a bid to annex the region. Netanyahu has come under political pressure to be flexible, as three of the last elections gave him only a majority in a coalition government and he was prosecuted in 2021. In 2019, the Trump administration reversed decades of U.S. policy by declaring that settlements in the West Bank did not violate international law, a move that threatened the two-state solution long seen as the key to lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The Trump administration`s Middle East policy, drafted by senior presidential adviser Jared Kushner and released in January 2020, endorsed Netanyahu`s plan to annex existing settlements. After Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE`s ambassador to the United States, wrote an opinion piece in June 2020 warning that annexation would jeopardize better relations between Israel and the Arab world, Kushner saw an opportunity and intervened to facilitate the talks. After negotiators reached an agreement, Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed held a conference call immediately before an official announcement. [21] [9] [27] [28] [29] In Bahrain, the first Gulf Arab state to publicly express support for the agreement as a step toward peace,[38] fears of government repression prevented activists from expressing their criticism. [45] On the 26th. In August, Bahrain`s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the Gulf state was committed to the creation of a Palestinian state and implicitly opposed normalizing relations with Israel.
[56] However, the country then agreed to a normalization of relations with Israel, which was announced by US President Donald Trump on September 12. [57] Since receiving the mandate, I have worked tirelessly, openly and covertly, to form a broad government of national unity. That`s what people want. And that`s what Israel needs. The Palestinian leadership has long opposed the normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab states because it would legitimize the ongoing occupation. By eliminating the prospect of annexation, at least for now, it actually eliminates a huge potential bone of contention between Israel and the West – not only the Europeans, but also the United States. So this is one of those offerings that, at first glance, may not seem as important as some of the others we`ve talked about. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, also welcomed the agreement, adding that it would end Israel`s annexation plans, which have repeatedly called for a HALT by the UN, and hoped it would resume dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians. [136] But Prime Minister Netanyahu appeared to have strayed from the idea, at least for now, due to overwhelming international pressure. The Emiratis offered him a way out of what had become an unpleasant political impasse.
The head of the Israeli settler group Yesha Council, David Elhayani, accused Netanyahu of “betraying” some of his most loyal supporters and “deceiving half a million people in the region and hundreds of thousands of voters.” Oded Revivi[er], the mayor of Efrat, a settlement of more than 9,000 people south of Jerusalem, supported Netanyahu, arguing that “the Israeli agreement to postpone the application of Israeli law in Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria is a fair price,” adding that this is how settlements are perceived. may change. [40] Beit El Settlement Mayor Shai Alon and Shomron Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan also criticized the deal. [37] So Mark, what does this agreement mean for the Palestinians? The non-annexation of the West Bank seems to be a kind of achievement for the Palestinians. But it really brings the situation back to where it was before Netanyahu announced this aggressive move, this annexation of the West Bank. It sounds like you`re saying this somewhat counterintuitively because Netanyahu is pushing, at least publicly, for the annexation of the West Bank – which he may have been secretly grateful for the opportunity to stop. “Between a long period and a short period of time,” he said. “That`s what temporary means.” Bahrain`s foreign minister will attend the event and sign his own agreement to normalize relations with Israel, which President Donald Trump announced last week. On the other hand, some members of the Israeli right have expressed anger at Mr.
Netanyahu for breaking his promise of annexation. At a televised press conference, he said the annexation had only been postponed “temporarily.” “Just as I brought peace with an Arab country,” Netanyahu said, “I will bring sovereignty.” When asked what that meant, Friedman added, “It`s off the table now, but it`s not off the table all the time.” The negotiations were conducted closely at the White House, with only a limited number of officials aware of it. Thursday`s meetings and phone call were either omitted from schedules or listed in obscure language, according to an administration official. Kushner said a preliminary agreement was reached a week ago and final details were finalized Wednesday for what has been called the “Abraham Agreement,” according to the figure common to Judaism, Islam and Christianity. U.S. officials say the new agreement is the most important step toward Middle East peace in two and a half decades and that these similar efforts have had a major impact in the past. The United Arab Emirates is the third Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, after Egypt in 1978 and Jordan in 1994. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned the UAE that this would have dangerous implications for the deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the deal a “big mistake” and warned the UAE against allowing Israel a secure presence in the Gulf.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called it a betrayal of Arab and non-Arab countries in the Middle East. A group of less than 100 protesters gathered outside the UAE embassy in Tehran on August 15, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Protesters also burned Israel`s flag. [72] The conservative Kayhan newspaper, whose editor is appointed by Iran`s Supreme Leader, warned that the deal had made the UAE a “legitimate and easy target.” [73] The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the agreement, saying that the history and peoples of the Middle East would not forgive or forget what the UAE had done, and that it was a violation of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. She called the UAE`s behavior hypocritical, adding that the Palestinians were right to reject the deal. [80] President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later said turkey was considering suspending or severing diplomatic relations with the UAE in retaliation and recalled its ambassador from Abu Dhabi. [80] The government of Oman publicly supported the agreement (which it called “historic”). [58] The Grand Mufti of Oman, Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili, indirectly criticized the treaty. [59] Iraqi government spokesman Ahmed Mulla Talal said that Iraq would not interfere in the sovereign affairs of other countries, but that its laws did not allow for the normalization of relations with Israel.
[60] He only suggests that it would be nice if this happened. .