President Trump announced on Thursday that Israel will establish “full normalization of relations” with the United Arab Emirates and forgo for now plans to annex disputed West Bank territory in order to focus on improving its ties with the rest of the Arab world.
In a surprise statement issued by the White House, Mr. Trump said that Israel and the U.A.E. will a string of bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, security, technology, energy and other areas while moving to allow direct flights between their countries and set up reciprocal embassies in each other’s nation.
“As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world,” according to a statement released by the White House and described as a joint declaration of Israel, the U.A.E. and the United States.
Mr. Trump summoned reporters to the Oval Office and said that he had spoken with leaders of the two countries. “Things are happening that I can’t talk about” but they are amazing, he told the reporters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel reposted a tweet from Mr. Trump announcing the agreement and added, in Hebrew: “A historic day.”
In a statement of his own, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo compared the agreement to the peace treaties Israel forged decades ago with Egypt and Jordan. “Today’s normalization agreement between Israel and the Emirates holds similar potential and the promise for a better day for the entire region,” he said.
The White House announcement came several weeks after Mr. Netanyahu announced a new partnership with the U.A.E. to cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus, portraying it as a breakthrough, only to be embarrassed with the Emiratis issued a much more limited statement just hours later describing an agreement between private companies.