#Trump announces peace deal between Israel, United Arab Emirates

President Trump on Thursday announced a historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that would pave the way for full normalization of relations between the two Middle Eastern countries.

The deal, revealed in a tweet, was finalized during a phone call between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

“HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!,” the president said in the posting.

“This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region,” a statement included in Trump’s tweet said.

It went on to say that delegations from the three countries would meet in the next weeks to sign bilateral agreements “regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit.”

The statement said that 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 of the West Bank that were envisioned in the U.S. peace plan unveiled by Trump in January.

Trump and the administration team that hammered out the deal held a news conference in the White House moments after the announcement.

“We’ve been working on this for a long time. It’s been a labor of love for a lot of the people in this room,


and a lot of them love Israel, and a lot of them love the Middle East and they love the countries that we’re talking about.” Trump said in the Oval Office.

He also noted how he pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and predicted that the Islamic Republic, struggling financially from the sanctions he imposed, would come back to the negotiating table and hash out another deal if he wins a second term.

“I’ll say this – and I can say it very publicly. That if I win the election, I will have a deal made with Iran within 30 days and make it very fast. They’re dying to make a deal but they’d much rather negotiate with sleepy Joe Biden than with us.”

Trump said the agreement, known as the Abraham Accords, will be officially signed in a couple of weeks at the White House with delegations from Israel and the UAE on hand.

Netanyahu called it a “historic day for the state of Israel.”

The accord, the first of its kind since Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994, gives Trump a significant foreign policy victory going into November’s election.


Egypt is the only other Arab nation apart from Jordan, and now the UAE, with diplomatic ties to Israel.

Jared Kushner, a top White House adviser and Trump’s son-in-law, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz negotiated the accord along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser Robert O’Brien.

With Post Wires