Manama: The UAE and Israel reached an agreement on Thursday to establish formal diplomatic ties after Israel agreed to suspend its controversial plans to annex areas of the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, US President Donald Trump said Israel and the UAE agreed to the full normalization of relations.
The surprise agreement that brokered by the United States, makes the UAE the first Gulf country and the third Arab nation to have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.
The agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accord, was sealed in a phone call on Thursday between US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
In a tweet Sheikh Mohamed also confirmed the news.
“During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories. The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship” he wrote on Twitter.
A joint statement by Trump, Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed called the accord historic and a breakthrough toward peace.
But it met with surprise and anger by Palestinian leaders. A spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas said the deal amounted to betrayal, and the Palestinian envoy to the Emirates was being recalled. Hamas, which controls Gaza, denounced it as a stab in the back.
The joint statement said delegations will meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and healthcare.
They are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies and a signing ceremony is due to be held at the White House in the coming weeks, it added.
The agreement, published by Trump on Twitter, states that 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.
Under the pact, the parties will continue their efforts to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem’s other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths.
The recognition of Israel by a Gulf state grants Trump a potentially powerful diplomatic accomplishment as he seeks re-election on November 3. Speaking in the White House Oval Office, Trump said similar deals are being discussed with other countries in the region.
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.
Thursday’s accord was preceded by weeks of exhaustive talks between officials in Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi, according to Israeli sources. These contacts were initiated in the wake of UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba’s unprecedented June 12 op-ed on the front page of an Israeli newspaper, in which he dangled the prospects of full relations while warning against Jerusalem’s plan to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank, Times of Israel reported quoting sources.
