In historic breakthrough, UAE and Israel agree to normalise diplomatic relations

The move means UAE will join Egypt & Jordan as the only middle-eastern countries with normal ties with Israel, signalling they will send ambassadors & open direct commercial ties.

UAE Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Zayed (left) and Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu (right) | Commons

Washington: Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement to fully normalize relations, a potentially historic breakthrough that U.S. President Donald Trump said will facilitate peace in the Mideast.

The move means the UAE would join Egypt and Jordan as the only middle-eastern countries will fully normal ties with Israel, signaling the countries will send ambassadors and open more direct commercial ties. According to a joint statement on Thursday, the UAE and Israel will open a range of joint talks in the “coming weeks,” while Israel also agreed to suspend efforts to declare sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.

Yet comments from the leader of the UAE, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, were more nuanced than the remarks from Trump and in the joint statement issued by the White House, suggesting a full normalization of ties may still be a ways off.

“During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories,” bin Zayed wrote on Twitter. “The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a historic day” in Hebrew on Twitter and said he would speak publicly later in the day.

The statement published by the White House suggested the move will reverberate across the Mideast.

“This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region,” according to a joint statement from the U.S., Israel and the UAE.

The decision by the UAE may also be seen as a proxy for its far bigger neighbor, Saudi Arabia, which has close ties with the UAE and has been viewed as having some informal contacts with Israel. Trump has made the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia the centerpiece of his Mideast strategy.

Trump, who has long sought to broker peace in the Mideast and is lagging Democratic challenger Joe Biden in polls ahead of November elections, joked to reporters that he wanted the deal “to be called the Donald J. Trump accord.”

“This deal is a significant” step toward peace in the Mideast, Trump told reporters at the White House. –Bloomberg