Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement
The Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement, or the Abraham Accord, was agreed to by Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 13, 2020.
Quotes
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- Though it will supposedly stave off Israeli annexation of the West Bank and encourage tourism and trade between both countries, in reality, it is nothing more than a scheme to give an Arab stamp of approval to Israel’s status quo of land theft, home demolitions, arbitrary extrajudicial killings, apartheid laws, and other abuses of Palestinian rights.
The deal should be seen in the context of over three years of Trump administration policies that have tightened Israel’s grip on the Palestinians: moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, and creating a so-called peace plan with no Palestinian participation or input.
While no U.S. administration has successfully brokered a resolution to Israel’s now 53-year-long occupation, the Trump years have been especially detrimental to the Palestinian cause. Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi wrote on Twitter that with this deal, “Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it’s been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation.”- Medea Benjamin in The Deceptive Trump, UAE-Israel ‘Peace Deal’, Consortium News, (14 August 2020)
- Among the most brutal aspects of this period for Palestinians have been the loss of support for their cause in neighboring Arab states. The Arab political party in Israel, Balad, said that by signing this pact, “the UAE has officially joined Israel against Palestine, and placed itself in the camp of the enemies of the Palestinian people.”
The UAE’s change from supporting Palestinian dignity and freedom to supporting Israel’s never-ending occupation is a calculated move by UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, a shrewd Middle East dictator who uses his country’s military and financial resources to thwart moves towards democracy and respect for human rights under the guise of fighting Islamic terrorism.- Medea Benjamin in The Deceptive Trump, UAE-Israel ‘Peace Deal’, Consortium News, (14 August 2020)
- President Trump said Thursday that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have entered into a “historic peace agreement” that will establish full diplomatic ties between the two countries, with Israel reportedly agreeing to stop its annexation of the West Bank, territory that Palestinians have sought for their future state.
- The agreement, hailed by President Donald Trump, Netanyahu, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE, as a breakthrough, has been cast as the coming together of two nations with strong economies for the good of the region. President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, which seeks a two-state solution, lashed out against the deal as a “betrayal” by the UAE. He has been disengaged from the Trump administration for the last two years for its pro-Israel stand. “The Palestinian leadership rejects and denounces the UAE, Israeli and US trilateral, surprising, announcement,” a senior adviser to Abbas said. It was a “betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa and the Palestinian cause,” he said. The Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militant group that de facto runs the Gaza strip, and views the relationship with Israel as a fight to the finish, called it a “stabbing in the back of our people” by the UAE.
- After Israel-UAE-US deal: gainers and losers, and key takeaways, Nirupama Subramanian, The Indian Express, (15 August 2020)
- Today is an historic day and a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East.
- Mike Pompeo quoted in Trump: Israel And United Arab Emirates Sign ‘Historic Peace Agreement’, Lisette Voytko, Forbes, (13 Aug 2020)
- After 49 years, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalize their diplomatic relations. They will exchange embassies and ambassadors and begin cooperation across the board and on a broad range of areas including tourism, education, healthcare, trade and security.
- Donald Trump quoted in Trump: Israel And United Arab Emirates Sign ‘Historic Peace Agreement’, , Forbes, (13 Aug 2020)
- Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to begin normalizing relations in a deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and hailed as a breakthrough between the two countries. It is only the third such agreement between Israel and a regional Arab state, and the first by a Gulf kingdom. In return, Israel agreed to “suspend” plans to annex its West Bank settlements as had been initially slated for this summer—though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was still committed to annexation in the future.
