Israel-Bahrain-United Arab Emirates agreements: a historic moment and some gray areas
Israel will seal its agreement with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at the White House on September 15, 2020. JACK GUEZ / AFP
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3 min
A historic moment is expected this Tuesday, September 15 in Washington.
Israel is to formally sign normalization agreements with two Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
This had not happened since the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan in 1979 and 1994. These agreements with the two Gulf countries were recently concluded under the aegis of the United States.
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Donald Trump wanted to organize a ceremony with great fanfare in Washington.
The American president, architect of his agreements, likes to present himself as a "peacemaker".
He intends to take the opportunity to gain points, a few weeks before the presidential election in the United States.
Benyamin Netanyahu
, the Israeli Prime Minister, made the trip to Washington.
He's in trouble internally.
The establishment of diplomatic relations with two Arab countries is a boon to restore its image.
The signing of these agreements will be in the presence of representatives of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The two countries share with Israel the same animosity against Iran.
But the normalization of their relations with the Hebrew state should also bring opportunities, especially on the economic level.
The big losers in these agreements are the Palestinians who feel betrayed and abandoned.
Until now, there was a consensus among Arab countries that there would be no normalization with Israel before any resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The consensus has been shattered.
Shadow areas
The gray area or even disagreement focuses of course on the issue of Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain say Israel agreed to suspend it, but until when?
Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted on the sovereignty of his country on this type of subject.
The Israeli Prime Minister says he has not renounced the annexation of these lands.
Concerns also exist this time on the Israeli side about the sale of American fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, in particular the famous F-35.
The agreement signed this Tuesday, September 15 concretizes the possibility of this sale granted by Washington to its allies.
Once again, Benjamin Netanyahu clearly opposed it.
Israel refuses to lose its military superiority in the region, even if having new allies against Iran is one of the strengths of the agreements signed today.
The United States and the United Arab Emirates have not given details of this possible sale.
If it did take place, Israel might be tempted to increase its arsenal of weapons in order to maintain its superiority.
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