Israel and United Arab Emirates Agree to ‘Full Normalization of Relations’

President Donald Trump announced today that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates have “agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates”.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign “bilateral agreements” promoting mutual-investment, increased tourism including direct flights, advanced security, and “the establishment of reciprocal embassies”.  

As a result of this diplomacy, “Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in [President Trump’s Israel-Palestine Peace Plan]”. This includes forgoing plans to annex parts of West Bank territory.

This agreement marks only the third peace deal between Israel and a country of the Arab world, following one with Egypt signed in 1979 and another with Jordan in 1994. Israel says it will “focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world”.

Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu called today a “historic day”, and UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said the agreement “maintains the viability of a two-state solution”, constituting “a significant advance in Arab-Israeli relations that lowers tensions and creates new energy for positive change across the region”.