Madeline Sponsler, FISM News
Israel and the United Arab Emirates’ both announced later last week that they would form formal ties under a U.S.-sponsored deal. The implementation of the peace deal could recast Middle East politics extending from the Palestinian issue to dealing with Iran, the common foe of Israel, and Gulf Arabs.
According to the White House website, this is the first such agreement between Israel and a major Arab country since 1994.
On the topic of the United State’s involvement in the deal, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a statement; “Our vision is one of peace, security, and prosperity—in this region, and in the world. Our goal is a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God.”
The two countries have committed to establishing exchanged embassies and ambassadors, and to begin cooperation in a range of fields including education, healthcare, trade, and security.
“In these fateful days, leadership is measured by its courage and ability to be groundbreaking and far-sighted,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin wrote in a letter to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
“I have no doubt that future generations will appreciate the way you, the brave and wise leaders, have restarted the discourse on peace, trust, dialogue between peoples and religions, cooperation, and a promising future,” Rivlin wrote in the publicly-released letter.
The Palestinians have called the deal a “betrayal” by an Arab country that they have long looked to for support in establishing a state in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestine Liberation Organization official Wassel Abu Youssef condemned Rivlin’s invitation, saying “the visit of any Arab official to Jerusalem through the gate of normalization is rejected.”
Israel seized the eastern part of the city in 1967 and annexed it in a move that has not won world recognition. It considers all of Jerusalem its capital. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they seek.
Sourced from Reuters, Twitter, and The Official White House Website