Without differences of views and without the attendees knowing the terms of the agreement, applause and joy rose in the White House garden, yesterday, Tuesday, during the signing of the agreement on normalization of the UAE and Bahrain with Israel, in the presence of US President Donald Trump, the Bahraini and Emirati foreign ministers, the Israeli prime minister, in addition to officials American administration.
The ceremony of signing the Abraham Agreement at the White House commensurate with the autumnal sunny weather, in which the temperature did not exceed 23 degrees Celsius, as the ceremony was traditional, symbolic, without excitement or tension.
But this festive atmosphere, which the celebration organizers were keen to show, did not prevent a number of journalists and diplomats attending from taking a different picture, and many of them were keen to publish it on the famous Twitter site.
Perhaps the most prominent of those snapshots was what David Aaron Miller, the former US negotiator for the Middle East peace process, referred to when he described what was happening as "the peace of non-combatants."
Miller said in a tweet on Twitter, "The comfortable way and the absence of hotspots are the most important characteristic of the speeches delivered by the Israeli prime minister, the UAE foreign minister and the Bahraini foreign minister, in contrast to 5 or 6 previous agreements signing ceremonies between Arabs and Israelis during the past decades! The difference that separates nations in war and conflict and those in which they were never a party. "
What I found so striking about signing ceremony as opposed to the 5 or 6 I've witnessed was relaxed manner of Netanyahu, Bahraini and UAE foreign ministers and absence of gotchas in speeches.
It's the difference that separates nations in conflict from those that have never been.
- Aaron David Miller (@ aarondmiller2) September 15, 2020
Ignoring the Palestinians
As for Martin Indyk, a former negotiator and official in charge of the peace process under President Barack Obama, he commented on Netanyahu's speech, saying, “It was a statesman’s speech and certainly rose to the level of the event. Only one problem: He spoke about comprehensive peace but did not mention the Palestinians, which is what Trump did. Also".
Bibi's speech was statesmanlike and definitely rose to the occasion.
Only one problem - he spoke of comprehensive peace but never mentioned the Palestinians.
And neither did Trump.
- Martin Indyk (@Martin_Indyk) September 15, 2020
He added in another tweet: We are surrounded by Republican Jews, one of them is next to me and Trump has declared "King of the Jews!"
I wanted to ask him how this equates him with being a Jewish Republican.
Here on the south lawn with Oslo Accords architect Terje Larsen.
It's a reunion!
We're surrounded by Republican Jews.
One next to me declared Trump "King of the Jews!"
I wanted to ask him how that squares with him being a Jewish republican.
pic.twitter.com/5ysqztAfB8
- Martin Indyk (@Martin_Indyk) September 15, 2020
Indyk confirmed that he worked nearly 27 years ago as an advisor to former President Bill Clinton for Middle East affairs, and helped organize the signing ceremony of the Oslo Accords at the White House, and that moment was full of hope for Israelis and Palestinians.
At the time, Clinton described their shared aspiration of a quiet miracle for a normal life.
He added: Since then, their lives have not been normal in anything. Thousands of people have been killed on both sides, which has destroyed the hope for peace. This hope has been replaced by a severe lack of confidence in the intentions of the other.
Indyk wrote in another tweet, "I am happy for the Israelis today who will finally obtain Arab regional recognition that they have been deprived of this for more than 7 decades, but I mourn the Palestinians. Does anyone on the platform today recognize their legitimate aspirations for freedom and the establishment of the state?"
5. I am happy for Israelis today who will finally receive Arab regional recognition they have been denied for more than seven decades.
6. I am sad for Palestinians.
Will anyone on the podium today acknowledge their legitimate aspirations for freedom and statehood?
More later ...
- Martin Indyk (@Martin_Indyk) September 15, 2020
In turn, Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State, expressed her concern, "Neither the Prime Minister Netanyahu nor President Trump mentioned anything about the Palestinians."
Unidentified agreements,
while the Israeli journalist Noah Landau expressed her surprise at all the cheering and applause from Trump supporters in the White House lawn for "signing documents, we do not know what they contain."
As for Ilan Goldenberg, a former Obama administration official with the Middle East peace process, he emphasized that what he worries deeply about is the "translation" of agreement documents between the three languages (Arabic, English and Hebrew) and wished the translation would be good.
I hope the translator did a good job and these documents all say the same things in English, Arabic, and Hebrew…
- Ilan Goldenberg (@ilangoldenberg) September 15, 2020
The difference in levels of representation
Another snapshot that some of the attendees took notice of was the difference in levels of diplomatic representation among the signatory countries, which was considered by the former US ambassador Gerald Verstein as an interesting protocol point.
Verstein said in a tweet on Twitter, "The UAE and Bahrain are represented at the level of foreign ministers, while Israel is here at the level of the prime minister. This is a clear reflection of the party that considers itself a winner from the agreement, and between parties that want to reduce the importance of the agreement."
Interesting protocol… UAE & Bahrain represented at FM level while Israel is here at the PM level.
A reflection I think of which party sees itself as the political winner and which parties want to low-ball the agreement.
- Gerald M. Feierstein (@j_feierstein) September 15, 2020