The Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement, officially the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel, was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates on August 13, 2020, officially referred to as the Abraham Accords. The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel, as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so. Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries. The agreement was signed at the White House on September 15, 2020. It was approved unanimously by the Israeli cabinet on October 12 and was ratified by the Knesset on October 15. The UAE parliament and cabinet ratified the agreement on October 19. The agreement went into effect on January 5, 2021.
On August 16, 2020, the UAE for the first time established telephone links to Israel by unblocking direct dialing to Israel's +972 country code. The first direct commercial flight from Israel to the UAE took place on August 31, 2020, and the first ship carrying cargo from the United Arab Emirates to Israel entered the Port of Haifa on October 12.
Background
As early as 1971, the year in which the UAE became an independent country, the first president of the UAE Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan had referred to Israel as "the enemy". The UAE and the United States had a strategic relationship since the 1990 Gulf War, growing to a significant US Air Force presence at Al Dhafra Air Base after the September 11 attacks. In November 2015, Israel announced that it would open a diplomatic office in the UAE, which would be the first time in more than a decade that Israel had an official presence in the Persian Gulf.
In the months leading up to the agreement, Israel had been working in secret with the UAE to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. European news media reported that Mossad had discreetly obtained health equipment from the Gulf states. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, reported at the end of June 2020 that the two countries were in cooperation to fight the coronavirus and that the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, had traveled numerous times to the UAE. However, the UAE appeared to downplay this a few hours later by revealing that it was merely an arrangement among private companies rather than at state level.
The move also comes in the wake of the Trump administration's repudiation of the Iran nuclear deal and following persistent Israeli suspicions that the Iranian nuclear program includes a program to develop atomic bomb capacities, something which Tehran denies. Currently, Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in backing different factions in proxy wars from Syria to Yemen, with the UAE supporting the Saudi-led and US-sponsored coalition against the Iran-aligned forces. In recent years, the countries' informal relations warmed considerably and they engaged in extensive unofficial cooperation based on their joint opposition to Iran's nuclear program and regional influence.
The agreement represented a major policy reversal for Netanyahu, who had long pushed for increasing settlements in the occupied West Bank, with an objective of annexing the territory. Netanyahu faced political pressure to demonstrate flexibility, as three recent elections gave him only a plurality in a coalition government and he faced criminal prosecution in 2021. In 2019, the Trump administration reversed decades of American policy by declaring that the West Bank settlements did not violate international law, a decision that threatened the two-state solution that had long been seen as the key to lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The Trump administration's Middle East policy, crafted by presidential senior advisor Jared Kushner and released in January 2020, approved Netanyahu's plan to annex existing settlements. After Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, wrote a June 2020 opinion piece warning that annexation would threaten better relations between Israel and the Arab world, Kushner saw an opportunity and stepped in to facilitate talks. After negotiators had reached an agreement, President Donald Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed held a conference call immediately prior to a formal announcement.
Agreement
On August 13, 2020, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, announced the UAE's agreement to normalize relations with Israel saying that his country wanted to deal with the threats facing the two-state solution, specifically annexation of the Palestinian territories, and urging the Palestinians and Israelis to return to the negotiating table. He indicated that he did not think that there would be any embassy in Jerusalem until after a final agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. According to Trump and Netanyahu, "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."
A joint statement issued by Trump, Netanyahu, and Zayed, read: "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." The UAE said it would continue to support the Palestinian people and that the agreement would maintain the prospect of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Despite the agreement however, Netanyahu stated that Israel's sovereignty claim to the Jordan Valley was still on the agenda and only frozen for the time being.
Zayed tweeted that the "UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship."
Treaty
The treaty was signed on September 15, 2020. The treaty recognizes each state's sovereignty, obliges the two states to exchange ambassadors and conclude bilateral agreements on several topics including visa agreements, and will enter into force upon ratification. The agreement was ratified by the Israeli government on October 12 and was ratified by the Knesset on October 15.
Reactions
Israel
Netanyahu said there was "no change" to his plans to annex parts of the West Bank if it was approved by the US, but added they were on temporary hold. Before the agreement, the plan to annex 30% of the West Bank was already on hold due to a majority of Israelis and the government coalition partner Benny Gantz rejecting the plan. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live in the areas, in addition to Palestinians, which were under Israeli control in practice.
Gantz thanked Trump, Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for making the peace deal happen, saying it showed an alliance between Middle Eastern nations that wanted stability and mutual cooperation. It also showed Israel's eternal desire for peace with neighboring countries per him, while also enhancing Israel's image on world stage and creating a better future for the region. Netanyahu when questioned by reporters, admitted to keeping the negotiations with the UAE a secret from Blue and White due to the United States requesting him to do so.
Foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi said the deal would pave the way for peace agreements with other nations and welcomed the suspension of unilateral annexation. Yesh Atid's chairman Yair Lapid welcomed the agreement as an "important step" for normalization with the UAE and said it showed mutual agreements are the path to be followed for Israel's relations with other nations, instead of unilateral steps like annexation. Israeli Labor Party leader Amir Peretz, too, shared the view and said Israel's development as well as safety lay in such agreements. He hoped for a similar agreement with Palestinians.
Yamina's Naftali Bennett welcomed the deal, but he said that it was "tragic" that the agreement came at the cost of annexation. His fellow MK Bezalel Smotrich dismissed the deal as insignificant and criticized Netanyahu for reviving prospect of a two-state solution. Likud MK and Netanyahu's chief rival in the party, Gideon Sa'ar, welcomed the deal but expressed that he will be more joyous with the annexation. Likud MKs Miri Regev and Yuli Edelstein, meanwhile, opposed the deal because of suspension of annexation.
Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Mayor Ron Huldai, congratulated Netanyahu on the "double achievement" of peace with the UAE and shelving of plans to annex parts of the West Bank. Huldai also lit up the Tel Aviv City Hall with the flag of the UAE.
The head of the Israeli settler group Yesha Council, David Elhayani, accused Netanyahu of "betraying" some of his most loyal supporters and having "deceived half a million residents of the area and hundreds of thousands of voters". Oded Revivi, the mayor of Efrat, a settlement of more than 9,000 residents south of Jerusalem, supported Netanyahu, arguing that "the Israeli agreement to postpone the application of Israeli law in the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria is a fair price [to pay]", and added it might change how settlements are viewed. Beit El settlement's mayor Shai Alon and Shomron Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan also criticized the deal.
United States
Kelly Craft, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, celebrated the announcement, calling it "a huge win" for President Trump and for the world, saying that the diplomatic ties show "just how hungry for peace we all are in this world", and how Middle Eastern countries are all understanding the need "to stand firm against a regime that is the number one state sponsor of terrorism — Iran".
Longtime New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who has for decades written about international geopolitics and has been a frequent critic of Trump policies, hailed the agreement as "exactly what Trump said it was in his tweet: a 'HUGE breakthrough.'"
Joe Biden, Trump's opponent in the 2020 US presidential election, praised the agreement as it "builds on the efforts of multiple administrations to foster a broader Arab–Israeli opening, including the efforts of the Obama–Biden administration to build on the Arab Peace Initiative".
Jared Kushner, the primary Trump administration official involved in negotiating the agreement, stated while speaking to CBS News that the deal would make the Middle East more peaceful and hopeful, which would mean fewer American troops would need to be deployed in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the deal was an important step toward stabilizing the region and was good for the whole world.
Muslim world
Gulf states
The treaty was generally viewed with skepticism by Gulf residents outside the UAE, according to the International Business Times. Emiratis who criticized the deal online were less numerous than those who supported it due to a crackdown against dissent, with many of those opposing the deal living outside the UAE. An open online signature campaign against the deal set up by the non-governmental organization UAE Anti-Normalisation Association had received 1.7 million signatures as of September 17.
Yousef Al Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the United States, issued a statement on August 13 extolling the agreement as "a win for diplomacy and for the region", adding how it "lowers tensions and creates new energy for positive change".
Kuwait's long-standing position on the issue became prominent after the announcement. A joint statement was issued the day of the announcement by seven movements in the Assembly comprising Liberals, Shi'ites, Islamists, and Arabists, among other blocs who condemned the treaty. 41 MPs (out of 50) signed a letter opposing normalization the day parliament was reconvened, and a stand was organised in front of the Palestinian embassy in Kuwait City. Several NGOs also issued similar statements.
Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, condemned Kuwait's position. However, his condemnation was widely shared online as a positive, according to Al Jazeera. The government of Kuwait itself however remained silent on the deal. 37 Kuwaiti MPs called upon it on August 18 to condemn the agreement. Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas had reported two days earlier that the Kuwaiti government's position was unchanged regarding Israel, citing anonymous government sources.
In Bahrain, which was the first Gulf Arab country to comment publicly in support of the deal as a step toward peace, fear of government crackdown prevented activists from voicing their criticism. On August 26, King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa explained to visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the Gulf state is committed to the creation of a Palestinian state, implicitly rejecting the normalization of ties with Israel. The country however later agreed to normalization of ties with Israel, which was announced by US President Donald Trump on September 12.