Axios: Secret meeting of the White House discussed the non-aggression treaty between the UAE and Israel

The American Axios website said that a secret American-Israeli-tripartite meeting was held late last year on coordination against Iran, and at the same time dealt with the normalization of relations between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

The website quoted Israeli and American officials as saying that the meeting that took place last December 17 in the White House is part of a series of steps from the administration of US President Donald Trump to facilitate relations between Israel and the Arab countries.

The American and Israeli sources said that the meeting included discussing a non-aggression treaty between the UAE and Israel.

She added that the treaty would be a step that would pave the way towards a normalization of relations between the two parties, noting that Jared Kushner, the American president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, had a major role in this initiative.

According to Axios, the meeting was attended by US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, his deputy and special envoy to Iran, Brian Hook and his assistant, Victoria Coates, while the Israeli team, Meir Bin Shabat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser, attended the meeting, and on behalf of the UAE, its ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al-Otaiba.

And the American website quoted Israeli and American sources as saying that the secret meeting explains a tweet published by the UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed on December 21 last year, in which it stated, "Reforming Islam: An Arab-Israeli alliance forming in the Middle East."

He pointed out that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented the next day on what was stated in the tweet by saying that the Emirati minister's talk about forming an Arab-Israeli alliance is the result of contacts and efforts that must be kept secret at this stage.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Washington, Nasser Al-Husseini, reported that the Axios report indicates Washington's relentless pursuit in recent months to bring Israel closer to Arab countries.

He added that the report was titled "The Iranian Threat", but that it included talk about efforts being made to bring Israel closer to the Gulf states through the gateway to normalization between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

The reporter also pointed to what was mentioned in the Axios report that Washington is pushing for other forms of normalization, such as doubling the visits of Israelis to certain countries in the Gulf, and organizing flights, particularly to Abu Dhabi.