While some Arab states welcomed the landmark peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Palestinian leadership overwhelmingly rejected the historic move.
“The Palestinian leadership rejects and denounces the UAE, Israeli and US trilateral, surprising announcement,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Angered by the move, the Palestinian Authority recalled its ambassador to the UAE with immediate effect.
The deal which paves the way for peace between Israel and a leading Arab state is a “treacherous stab in the back of the Palestinian people,” the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas said in a statement. The Iran-sponsored Islamic Jihad Movement, a leading Palestinian terrorist group besides PLO and Hamas, called this peace agreement a “surrender,” the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.
Egypt, the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1978, welcomed the move. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi “called Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to congratulate him on the “historic peace step” undertaken by the UAE,” Reuters reported.
“I followed with interest and appreciation the joint statement between the United States, United Arab Emirates and Israel to halt the Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands and taking steps to bring peace in the Middle East,” the Egyptian leader tweeted. “I value the efforts of those in charge of the deal to achieve prosperity and stability for our region.”
Jordan, which also has a similar agreement with Israel, lauded the deal brokered by President Trump, while calling upon Jerusalem to abandon plans to exercise sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria region, also referred to as the West Bank.
The latest deal negotiated by President Trump is much more substantial than previous such agreements between Israel and Arab states, former Israeli lawmaker Dr. Einat Wilf explained on Twitter. “Israel has had peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan for decades, but both countries have been resolutely against normalisation,” she wrote. “The breakthrough with the UAE is that it openly speaks of normalisation: trade, tourism, scientific and economic cooperation. That’s an Arab first.”
Iran and Turkey, both governed by radical Islamic regimes, came out as the most vocal opponents of the agreement. In an official statement, Tehran compared the Arab peace initiative with Israel to a “dagger that was unjustly struck by the UAE in the backs of the Palestinian people and all Muslims.”
German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported the Turkish and Iranian response:
Iran and Turkey on Friday resoundingly condemned the normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (…)Iran called the deal a “dagger in the back” of all Muslims, according to a foreign ministry statement.Tehran also said the deal was an act of “strategic stupidity” by the UAE, and “will undoubtedly strengthen the axis of resistance in the region.” (…)The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement supporting the Palestinian administration, saying that the “history and the conscience” of the region’s people will not forget and never forgive the “hypocritical behavior” of the United Arab Emirates in agreeing to a deal with Israel.”While betraying the Palestinian cause to serve its narrow interests, the UAE is trying to present this as a kind of act of self-sacrifice for Palestine,” the foreign ministry said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among the first Western leaders to welcome the agreement between the two states. “The UAE and Israel’s decision to normalise relations is hugely good news,” Johnson said. “It was my profound hope that annexation did not go ahead in the West Bank and today’s agreement to suspend those plans is a welcome step on the road to a more peaceful Middle East.”
Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi to congratulate the Jewish state on “this historic step.” Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also echoed the German sentiment, calling the move a “positive step.” Both Germany and France, however, placed the onus for making peace solely on Israel, calling it to giving up any future plans for sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, the historical heartland of the Jewish people.
With a peace agreement secured with the Emirates, other countries of the Arab Gulf could normalize diplomatic with the Jewish State. “The U.A.E. move is expected to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia and others in the Gulf region to follow suit,” the Wall Street Journal noted.
“Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates,” President Trump said in the statement delivered from the Oval Office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared the optimism. “In recent years, Israel under my leadership has made advancements in ties with such countries as Sudan, Oman, Bahrain and other nations in the Gulf,” he said on Thursday while announcing the agreement. “I have reason to be very optimistic that today’s announcement with the UAE will be followed by more Arab nations joining our region’s circle of peace.”
‘Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement on the peace treaty between Israel and the UAE’
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