Washington, D.C., August 13, 2020
On Thursday, August 13, 2020, Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached an historic peace deal that will lead to full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations. President Donald Trump and other White House officials assisted in brokering the agreement. The official agreement will be known as the Abraham Accords and is considered the first of its kind since the signing of a peace treaty between Jordan and Israel in 1994. A condition of the deal includes the suspension of Israel's plan to extend sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria.
On a private conference call with the White House that EMET was invited to, Ambassador David Friedman said, "In the diplomatic world, there is no higher echelon than peace." Ambassador Friedman also stated that this deal "does not in any way require Israel to cancel the idea of Israeli sovereignty (over parts of Judea and Samaria, or the West Bank, and the Jordan Valley) but to suspend it. It is very difficult to go down these two roads at once. We prioritize peace above everything else. It is a suspension, not a cancellation of the sovereignty issue. It is just a question of what you feel to be the most important, and I think that we can all agree that peace is above all else."
EMET is profoundly grateful to all parties involved for having the courage and vision to move forward with such an unprecedented agreement. Peace in the Middle East can only be achieved if there is mutual respect and shared vision for a peaceful future between the nations that reside there. EMET is hopeful that this deal will be a force for peace and security in the region. We are hopeful that the Abraham Accords will pave the way for much needed additional peaceful relationships between Israel and its neighbors.
Over the past few decades Israel has tried tirelessly to reach peace agreements with all of her neighbors. In 1979 Israel inked a deal with Egypt, and in 1994 with Jordan. Unfortunately, the disengagement from Gaza created the opposite effect, forcing Israel to defend its borders. Nonetheless, Israel has never stopped trying to pursue peace and will continue to do so with the Palestinian Authority as well with other Arab nations that it is currently in talks with. On this momentous occasion, EMET celebrates not only Israel's new agreement with the UAE, but also Israel's steadfast and eternal commitment to being a secure homeland for the Jewish people. It is noteworthy that this treaty did not expect Israel to give up land. It shows that Israel is valued, and brings to the table sophisticated high tech and cyber capabilities, which is extremely valuable to the way that conflicts are being conducted around the world, today.
Says President and Founder of EMET, Sarah Stern, "Today is a momentous day. This is a historic breakthrough. This shows that another major Sunni Arab nation has finally come to accept that Israel is here to stay and that it has a great deal more to gain by living and working side by side together and penetrating through the decades of old animosities. Both Israel and the United Arab Emirates understand that the real threat to the region remains the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is a peace that I hope will endure for generations to come, and that one-day Israeli and Emirati children will be able to develop the bonds of friendship together and will work together for a just society."
Founded in 2005, The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) is a Washington, D.C. based think tank and policy center with an unabashedly pro-America and pro-Israel stance. EMET (which means truth in Hebrew) prides itself on challenging the falsehoods and misrepresentations that abound in U.S. Middle East policy.
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