- ARAB NEWS
- 24 Apr 2024
Since 1975
Arab News
DUBAI: A deal between the UAE and Israel that will lead to normalized ties has been welcomed across the Middle East and beyond.
US President Donald Trump, who helped broker the deal, hailed the agreement as big breakthrough.
“HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the agreement describing it as “hugely good news”.
“The UAE and Israel’s decision to normalise relations is hugely good news,” Johnson said on Twitter.
The UAE and Israel’s decision to normalise relations is hugely good news. 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.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 13, 2020
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said UAE becomes one of the US closest allies in the region after the deal with Israel.
US Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden hailed the deal as an historic step toward a more stable Middle East, warning he would not support Israel’s annexation of Jewish settlements if he wins the White House in November.
“The UAE’s offer to publicly recognize the State of Israel is a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship,” the former Vice President said in a statement. “Annexation would be a body blow to the cause of peace, which is why I oppose it now and would oppose it as president.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi praised the deal, saying it would halt Israeli annexation of Palestinian land.
“I read with interest and great appreciation the joint statement between the United States, the brotherly United Arab Emirates and Israel concerning the halt of Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land,” El-Sisi said in a tweet, adding that this would help bring “peace” to the Middle East.
Bahrain welcomed the accord between the UAE and Israel which stops Israeli annexation plans and raises the chances of peace, state news agency BNA said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed “any initiative that can promote peace and security in the Middle East region,” a spokesman said.
As part of the deal, Israel had agreed “to suspend” plans to annex Jewish settlements and other territory in the occupied West Bank, according to a joint statement from the US, UAE and Israel tweeted by Trump.
