The united arab Emirates and Israel must sign within three weeks in Washington, a historic agreement aimed at normalizing their relations, announced Trump on Thursday.
History. It is the term most used by advocates of the agreement. “A new era begins in the relations between Israel and the arab world”, said Thursday the israeli Prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, welcoming the normalization of relations between the jewish State and the united arab Emirates qualified as “treason” by the Palestinians.
The announcement of this agreement was made on Thursday by Donald Trump, in a tweet : “An ENORMOUS step forward,” wrote the american president in praising a “historic peace agreement” between “two GREAT friends” of Washington. It has subsequently clarified that the agreement would be signed “in the next three weeks” in Washington, in the presence of the two leaders, israeli, and emirati. The text provides very specific consequences.
economic co-operation strengthened
first of All, it is in a economic framework, and political, that this agreement falls. It marks a further strengthening of relations between the two powers in these areas. “I had a discussion trilateral with the us president, Trump and the sheikh (uae) Ben Zayed and we have agreed to a comprehensive peace agreement, with exchange of ambassadors and trade, including direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv,” said Benjamin Netanyahu, triumphant, in a televised speech.
summer Offer : Take advantage of the special offer 2 months for 1€ I subscribe
ALSO READ >> Bruno Tertrais : The borders of the Middle East, a hundred years after
He explained that the Uae will invest “significant sums” in Israel. “It is an opening for peace in the region”, said the Prime minister of israel, welcoming a third peace agreement with an arab country, after Egypt and Jordan. In recent years, Israel has developed an unofficial cooperation with regional economies such as Bahrain, the Uae and saudi Arabia in order to normalize its relations with those arab countries that share a common enemy in the jewish State : Iran.
The minister of State for foreign Affairs of the Uae has not wanted to give any precise date for the opening of embassies between Abu Dhabi and Israel, but specified that this would take place “shortly”.
Suspension of the project of annexation of palestinian territories
This standardization was part of the plan to Trump for the middle East, which also provided for the annexation by Israel of the Jordan valley and the jewish colonies in the occupied west bank. A project disparaged by the Palestinians, a number of european countries and of the region, while more than 450,000 Israelis live in the hundred or so jewish settlements in the west bank, deemed illegal by international law and considered as an obstacle, according to many governments, to the creation of a viable palestinian State.
READ ALSO >> the west bank, an annexation to the high-risk
The union government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his former-rival political Benny Gantz had to announce from the 1st of July its strategy to implement the project of annexation. The plans are expected to change following the signing of the agreement with the Uae. In the eyes of the latter, Israel has agreed to “put an end to the pursuit of annexation of the palestinian territories”. “During a call between the president Trump and the First minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to put an end to any annexation further,” said the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyane on his Twitter account.
But the readings diverge. The standards actually will “defer” the israeli project of annexation, as was said by Benjamin Netanyahu : he said that they have not “renounced” to this option in the longer term. “The wording has been chosen with care by the various parties. ‘Temporary Pause’, this is not ruled out permanently”, said for his part the us ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
Welcoming the agreement, France has held that “the decision taken by the israeli authorities, to suspend the annexation of the palestinian territories is a positive step that should become a final measure”, according to the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian.
To a resurgence of tensions in Gaza ?
The agreement is in any case a “victory” for diplomacy, said the ambassador of the Uae in Washington, Youssef al-Otaïba on Twitter. “This is a breakthrough for relations between Israel and the arab countries”, he added, stressing that the agreement “preserves the option of two States (israeli and palestinian), which was defended by the arab League and the international community.”
In the same sense, the minister of State for foreign Affairs of the Uae Anwar Gargash, said the agreement opened the door to the option of two States. “Most countries see it as a courageous initiative to ensure a two-state solution, the outcome of the negotiations”, he said in the press conference. The option of two States has been ignored so far by the president Trump, whose peace plan contains no reference to a palestinian State living alongside Israel.
Welcoming the agreement in a jointiqué, the secretary-general of the UN Antonio Guterres has also entrusted the hope that it would create “an opportunity for israeli and palestinian leaders to resume substantive negotiations, leading to a two-state solution in accordance with the un resolutions on the matter”.
But the palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas has described as “betrayal” of the palestinian cause and the agreement of standards, called for an “emergency meeting” of the arab League to denounce it, and summoned “immediately” its ambassador to Abu Dhabi. The leadership of the palestinian “refuses this exchange between a suspension of the annexation illegal against the normalization of relations with Emirates, that is done at the expense of the Palestinians,” said palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who has talked on the phone with Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh.
the relationship between the camp of president Mahmoud Abbas, in power in the west bank, and islamist Hamas, who control Gaza, are deemed to be extended, but the leaders the palestinians have agreed that “all parts of society (palestinian) came together to reject the standards,” said AFP a source within Hamas. On the ground, the situation remains tense. The israeli army has launched a new series of strikes night Friday against the positions of Hamas in the Gaza strip, in order to put an end to the firing of balloons with fire from the palestinian enclave which are at the origin of bush fires in the south of Israel.
A small victory for Donald Trump
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the allies of the United States in the Middle East, including the rich monarchies of the Gulf, is in any case a key objective of the regional strategy of Donald Trump to contain the islamic Republic of Iran, intimate enemy of Washington and the State of israel. Since its foundation in 1948, Israel has had turbulent relationships with the muslim world and Arabic.
Read our complete file
Israel, under the leadership of Netanyahu
“MBZ”, the strong man of the Emirates, architect of the rapprochement with Israel, Elie Barnavi : The annexation of the palestinian territories is “an adventure absurd,” west bank : the French members of parliament have denounced the project of the annexation of israel
At this time, this announcement also constitutes a major achievement in foreign policy, Donald Trump, while the campaign for his re-election in November promises to be difficult.Washington is now waiting for other agreements between Israel and the arab countries. “I think there’s a strong chance” for that to happen, ” said the White House adviser Jared Kushner to journalists who asked him if a new agreement of this kind could be finalized by the election of the 3 November.
