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Israel normalizes relations with some Gulf States, Sudan & Morocco [#288]

Gabbar Singh said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is Kafkaesque: Turkey, which recognizes Israel, criticizes Bahrain for recognizing Israel <a href="https://t.co/CIMqr2Nk0J">https://t.co/CIMqr2Nk0J</a></p>— Soner Cagaptay (@SonerCagaptay) <a href="https://twitter.com/SonerCagaptay/status/1304543223759728643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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There is a touch of hypocrisy there but Turkey has suspended diplomatic ties with Israel since US announced Jerusalem to be Israel's capital. However, the economic ties remain.
 
CanadianG00se said:
So, the Hypocrisy remains then.
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Yes i will have to agree to that. The thing is that public has short memory and they only see what meets the eye. Turkey can still play it to their advantage despite the clear hypocrisy. Let's wait and see because i have a feeling that the other arab nations will follow UAE and Bahrain very quickly.
 
Palestinians rally against Bahrain-Israel normalisation

Palestinians in Gaza burned pictures of Israeli, American, Bahraini, and United Arab Emirates leaders on Saturday in protest against the two Gulf countries’ moves to normalise ties with Israel.

Bahrain on Friday joined the UAE in agreeing to normalise relations with Israel, a move forged partly through shared fears of Iran but one that could leave the Palestinians further isolated.

The Gaza protest, attended by a few dozen people, was organised by the ruling group Hamas.

“We have to fight the virus of normalisation and block all its paths before it succeeds to prevent it from spreading,” said Hamas official Maher al-Holy.

Demonstrators set fire to images of US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

While the United States, Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain hail the diplomatic moves as a significant step towards peace and stability in the Middle East, the Palestinians see it as a betrayal.

They fear a weakening of a long-standing pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

Despite a deep political rift going back to 2007, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority (PA) has a limited rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and his Hamas rivals have been united against the Gulf states’ move.

‘Military alliance’
In the West Bank, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said the diplomatic push will not achieve peace if the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not resolved first.

“The Bahraini, Israeli, American agreement to normalise relations is now part of a bigger package in the region. It isn’t about peace, it is not about relations between countries. We are witnessing an alliance, a military alliance being created in the region,” Erekat said.

Iran, meanwhile, said on Saturday that Bahrain’s move meant it would be complicit in Israeli policies that threatened regional security, Iranian state television reported. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Bahrain would face “harsh revenge” from its own people and the Palestinians over the Gulf state’s move.

Turkey also condemned the deal saying it undermined the Palestinian cause and would “further embolden Israel to continue its illegal practices … and attempts to make the occupation of Palestinian territories permanent”.

Bahrainis opposed to their government’s agreement to establish diplomatic relations with Israel vented their frustration on social media on Saturday, underlining the complexities of the Gulf’s rapprochement with Israel.

The hashtags #Bahrainis_against_normalisation and #NormalizationIsBetrayal were trending on Twitter after Trump announced the deal late on Friday.

Bahrain, a Sunni-ruled kingdom with a large Shia population, shares with Israel a deep enmity towards Iran, and relies on the United States, which stations its Fifth Fleet on the tiny but strategic archipelago.

‘Black day’
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said the deal represented a historic step towards achieving peace in the Middle East, but the PA and the Hamas condemned it as “another stab in the back” by an Arab government.

Unlike the UAE, opposition to normalisation runs deep in Bahrain, which has a history of open politics even if it has been suppressed over the past 10 years.

Former MP Ali Alaswad wrote it was “a black day in the history of Bahrain”.

The kingdom - a small archipelago located between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran - has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed Shia-led protests demanding reforms.

Opposition group Al-Wefaq criticised the normalisation deal.

“The agreement between the despotic regime in Bahrain and the Zionist occupation government is a total betrayal of Islam and Arabism and a departure from the Islamic, Arab and national consensus,” it said on Twitter.

Other anti-normalisation groups, based in Bahrain and abroad, expressed their anger in statements sent to media calling the deal “shameful”.

‘Deteriorating unity’
Sari Nusseibeh, a former top PLO official, said the Palestinian leadership was “very upset”.

“But I don’t think they are more upset than in the past about the Arab world in general. Palestinians have always complained that the Arab world has not stood behind them as they should have,” said Nusseibeh.

The Palestinian cause had already become less central as the region has been rocked by the Arab Spring upheavals, the Syria war, and the bloody onslaught by the armed group ISIL (ISIS).

At the same time, hostility has deepened between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“There have been all kinds of problems in the Arab world - disputes, revolutions, civil wars, tensions between different Arab countries,” said Palestinian analyst Ghassan Khatib. “Palestinians are now paying the price for the deterioration in Arab unity.”

The PA maintains the validity of the so-called “Arab consensus” and rejects the notion that it is isolated. That consensus has long held that Arab states will only normalise ties if Israel meets a number of conditions.

One demand is for Israel to withdraw from the territories it occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Another is to agree to a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a third to find a just solution for the millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

“We hope that the Arab countries will remain committed to this consensus,” said Jibril Rajoub, a senior Palestinian official, adding straying from it “will lead to nothing”.

“Those who are violating the Arab consensus … will be isolated” in the long term, he warned.

Choosing sides
One Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, shared the view that at the moment “the Palestinians don’t really have a way out”.


“They are also stuck because of those who want to support their cause, whether it is Turkey or Iran.”

Iran already has relations with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and slightly cooler ties with the PA.

The Palestinian cause has also received backing from Turkey, a regional power increasingly at odds with Israel and that militarily backs a rival faction in the Libya war to the UAE and Egypt.

“Turkey does have an ambition to lead this cause and is pointing to the hypocrisy of both Arab states and the West for not emphasising this issue enough,” said Gallia Lindenstrauss of Israel’s National Institute for Security Research.

Rajoub insisted: “We are not ignoring any country. Turkey is a regional superpower, it’s an Islamic country and we are on good terms. We’ll keep cooperating with everybody.”

But Khatib argued the Palestinians should keep their distance. “It’s not wise for the Palestinians to be caught within the regional tensions and competition between regional superpowers,” he said.

“If you side with Iran, you’ll lose Saudi Arabia. If you side with Turkey, you’ll lose someone else. It’s better for the Palestinians to keep a safe distance from these different regional superpowers.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/...ain-israel-normalisation-200912163206019.html
 
Arab states are now seemingly queuing up to recognise Israel. Feels like quite a sudden and surprising change.
 
Bahrain opposition rejects Israel normalisation

Bahraini opposition groups have rejected a decision by the Gulf state to normalise relations with Israel with a leading Shia Muslim leader calling on the people of the region to resist.

Muslim scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, who lives in Iran, said on Sunday he was against normalisation between Arab countries and Israel, in a statement published by dissolved Bahraini opposition party al-Wefaq, a group close to Qassim.

The accords struck between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month, and between Israel and Bahrain on Friday, go against the will of the people, he said.

"There is a great divergence between the rulers and the ruled in thought, mind, aims and interests. Governments are experiencing a psychological defeat and want to impose it on the people, and the people have to resist this defeat," Qassim said.

A group of Bahraini political and civil society associations, including the Bahrain Bar Association, on Sunday voiced their opposition to the deal in a joint statement.

"What results from normalisation will not enjoy popular backing, in line with what generations of Bahrainis have been brought up on in terms of adherence to the Palestinian cause," the statement said.

'Finding solutions'
The head of Bahrain's highest court ordered judiciary employees not to criticise government policy or express opinions harming national unity, al-Bilad newspaper reported on Sunday.

Bahrain's foreign minister said Palestinian rights remained a priority for the kingdom.

Bahrainis have previously criticised their government's engagements with Israel, including last June's conference in Manama to launch a US-led $50bn economic formula for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Parliament last April joined social media calls to stop Israeli business and government officials attending an international entrepreneurship conference. The delegation did not attend.

Bahrain has had a Jewish population for decades, although emigration means it is small today.

A television period drama released this year by a Gulf network about the trials of a Jewish midwife in a multireligious community took inspiration from real-life Jewish midwife Umm Jan who lived in Bahrain.

Ebrahim Noonoo, the head of Bahrain's Jewish community, said the agreement would enable Israelis to come to Bahrain to visit its synagogue and cemetery, where family members may be buried.

"With this understanding comes new and open ideas that help us in finding solutions for any problems between Jews and Muslims," he said.

Bahraini worker Ali Abdallah said he hoped the deal would help regional peace and stability and would facilitate all Muslims being able to pray at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...cts-israel-normalisation-200913174204970.html
 
The Viper said:
Bahrain opposition rejects Israel normalisation

Bahraini opposition groups have rejected a decision by the Gulf state to normalise relations with Israel with a leading Shia Muslim leader calling on the people of the region to resist.

Muslim scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, who lives in Iran, said on Sunday he was against normalisation between Arab countries and Israel, in a statement published by dissolved Bahraini opposition party al-Wefaq, a group close to Qassim.

The accords struck between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month, and between Israel and Bahrain on Friday, go against the will of the people, he said.

"There is a great divergence between the rulers and the ruled in thought, mind, aims and interests. Governments are experiencing a psychological defeat and want to impose it on the people, and the people have to resist this defeat," Qassim said.

A group of Bahraini political and civil society associations, including the Bahrain Bar Association, on Sunday voiced their opposition to the deal in a joint statement.

"What results from normalisation will not enjoy popular backing, in line with what generations of Bahrainis have been brought up on in terms of adherence to the Palestinian cause," the statement said.

'Finding solutions'
The head of Bahrain's highest court ordered judiciary employees not to criticise government policy or express opinions harming national unity, al-Bilad newspaper reported on Sunday.

Bahrain's foreign minister said Palestinian rights remained a priority for the kingdom.

Bahrainis have previously criticised their government's engagements with Israel, including last June's conference in Manama to launch a US-led $50bn economic formula for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Parliament last April joined social media calls to stop Israeli business and government officials attending an international entrepreneurship conference. The delegation did not attend.

Bahrain has had a Jewish population for decades, although emigration means it is small today.

A television period drama released this year by a Gulf network about the trials of a Jewish midwife in a multireligious community took inspiration from real-life Jewish midwife Umm Jan who lived in Bahrain.

Ebrahim Noonoo, the head of Bahrain's Jewish community, said the agreement would enable Israelis to come to Bahrain to visit its synagogue and cemetery, where family members may be buried.

"With this understanding comes new and open ideas that help us in finding solutions for any problems between Jews and Muslims," he said.

Bahraini worker Ali Abdallah said he hoped the deal would help regional peace and stability and would facilitate all Muslims being able to pray at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...cts-israel-normalisation-200913174204970.html
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Bahrain is 85% Shia. This move on part of the minority rulers has the fringe benefit of irking the majority yet again, which they are quite fond of doing anyhow.

I'm not sure if it is still the case, but the police in Bahrain were heavily recruited from Pakistan. I had a distant relative who served in the police there, and used to relate tales of how he and his comrades cracked down on Shia protestors. Yet another example of Gulf rulers hiring us as mercenaries for their dirty work.
 
Normalising relations with Israel "can't be the answer" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a Qatari official has said, adding that Doha will not join other Gulf Arab states in establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.

"We don't think that normalisation was the core of this conflict and hence it can't be the answer," Lolwah al-Khater, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday in an interview with Bloomberg.

"The core of this conflict is about the drastic conditions that the Palestinians are living under" as "people without a country, living under occupation," she said.

Al-Khater's statement came ahead of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signing their normalisation deals with Israel in a ceremony scheduled in the White House later on Tuesday.

The deals will normalise diplomatic, commercial, security and other relations between Israel and the Arab states.

Palestinians have slammed the deals as grave betrayals by the Arab states, further undermining their efforts to achieve self-determination.

The Palestinian leadership wants an independent state based on the de facto borders before the 1967 war, in which Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and annexed East Jerusalem.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/qatar-rules-normalising-relations-israel-200915113549077.html
 
Madplayer said:
Yes i will have to agree to that. The thing is that public has short memory and they only see what meets the eye. Turkey can still play it to their advantage despite the clear hypocrisy. Let's wait and see because i have a feeling that the other arab nations will follow UAE and Bahrain very quickly.
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Turkey is actually losing whatever soft power they had in Middle East. Until recently Turkey had some level relationship with Israel along with Egypt, whereas Gulf had complete ban. But this new bilateral agreement between Israel, UAE and Bahrain is changing the entire scenario, which is going to hurt Turkey.
Israel will easily replace Turkey as trading partner more so in military warfare(far superior to Turkey)

For me, I really welcome this new deal, now I don’t have to worry about Israel stamp showing up on my Canadian passport while I wish to visit Dubai. I always wanted to visit Jerusalem.
 
James said:
Arab states are now seemingly queuing up to recognise Israel. Feels like quite a sudden and surprising change.
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Perhaps, it has go to do with upcoming elections in US. Trump is trying his best to garner support from both Jewish and Arab community. Smart move by him
 
Israel 'normalisation': Is Saudi Arabia softening its stance?

When one of Saudi Arabia's leading Muslim leaders called this month for Muslims to avoid "passionate emotions and fiery enthusiasm" towards Jews, it was a marked change in tone for someone who has shed tears preaching about Palestine in the past.

The sermon by Abdulrahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, broadcast on Saudi state television on September 5, came three weeks after the United Arab Emirates agreed upon a historic deal to normalise relations with Israel and days before the Gulf state of Bahrain, a close Saudi ally, followed suit.

Sudais, who in past sermons prayed for Palestinians to have victory over the "invader and aggressor" Jews, spoke about how the Prophet Muhammad was good to his Jewish neighbour and argued the best way to persuade Jews to convert to Islam was to "treat them well".

While Saudi Arabia is not expected to follow the example of its Gulf allies any time soon, Sudais's remarks could be a clue to how the kingdom approaches the sensitive subject of warming to Israel - a once inconceivable prospect. Appointed by the king, he is one of the country's most influential figures, reflecting the views of its conservative religious establishment as well as the Royal Court.

The dramatic agreements with the UAE and Bahrain were a coup for Israel and US President Donald Trump who is portraying himself as a peacemaker before November elections.

But the big diplomatic prize for an Israel deal would be Saudi Arabia, whose king is the Custodian of Islam's holiest sites, and rules the world's largest oil exporter.

'Test public reaction'

Marc Owen Jones, an academic from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, said the UAE and Bahrain's normalisation has allowed Saudi Arabia to test public opinion, but a formal deal with Israel would be a "large task" for the kingdom.

"Giving the Saudis a 'nudge' via an influential imam is obviously one step in trying to test the public reaction and to encourage the notion of normalisation," Jones added.

Sudais' plea to shun intense feelings is a far cry from his past when he wept dozens of times while praying for Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque - Islam's third-holiest site.

The September 5 sermon drew a mixed reaction, with some Saudis defending him as simply communicating the teachings of Islam. Others on Twitter, mostly Saudis abroad and apparently critical of the government, called it "the normalisation sermon".

Ali al-Suliman, interviewed at one of Riyadh's malls, said in reaction to the Bahrain deal that normalisation with Israel by other Gulf states or in the wider Middle East was hard to get used to, as "Israel is an occupying nation and drove Palestinians out of their homes."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the kingdom's de-facto ruler, has promised to promote interfaith dialogue as part of his domestic reform. The prince previously stated that Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land on condition of a peace agreement that assures stability for all sides.

Saudi Arabia and Israel's mutual fear of Iran may be a key driver for the development of ties.

There have been other signs that Saudi Arabia, one of the most influential countries in the Middle East, is preparing its people to eventually warm to Israel.

A period drama, "Umm Haroun" that aired during Ramadan in April on Saudi-controlled MBC television, a time when viewership typically spikes, centred around the trials of a Jewish midwife.

The fictional series was about a multi-religious community in an unspecified Gulf Arab state in the 1930s to 1950s. The show drew criticism from the Palestinian Hamas group, saying it portrayed Jews in a sympathetic light.

At the time, MBC said the show was the top-rated Gulf drama in Saudi Arabia in Ramadan. The show's writers, both Bahraini, said it had no political message.

But experts and diplomats said it was another indication of shifting public discourse on Israel.

Earlier this year, Mohammed al-Aissa, a former Saudi minister and the general secretary of the Muslim World League, visited Auschwitz. In June, he took part in a conference organised by the American Jewish Committee, where he called for a world without "Islamophobia and anti-Semitism".

"Certainly, MBS is intent on moderating state-sanctioned messages shared by the clerical establishment and part of that will likely work towards justifying any future deal with Israel, which would have seemed unthinkable before," said Neil Quilliam, associate fellow with Chatham House.

Isolated Palestinians

Normalisation between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, signed at the White House on Tuesday, has further isolated the Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has not directly addressed Israel's deals with the UAE and Bahrain, but said it remains committed to peace on the basis of the long-standing Arab Peace Initiative.

Saudi Arabia, which does not recognise Israel, drew up the 2002 initiative by which Arab nations offered to normalise ties with Israel in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in 1967.

Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia to join the agreements to normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship.

But Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz told the US president the Gulf country wanted to see a fair and permanent solution for the Palestinians first.

How, or whether, the kingdom would seek to exchange normalisation for a deal on the terms of Arab Peace Initiative remains unclear.

In another eye-catching gesture of goodwill, the kingdom has allowed Israel-UAE flights to use its airspace. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who has a close relationship with MBS, praised the move last week.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...-arabia-softening-stance-200916134238331.html
 
CanadianG00se said:
Turkey is actually losing whatever soft power they had in Middle East. Until recently Turkey had some level relationship with Israel along with Egypt, whereas Gulf had complete ban. But this new bilateral agreement between Israel, UAE and Bahrain is changing the entire scenario, which is going to hurt Turkey.
Israel will easily replace Turkey as trading partner more so in military warfare(far superior to Turkey)
Click to expand...

Sorry to say, I dont think the reality is anywhere near what you are saying. Turkey will lose soft power among arab muslim masses due to Israel? Dont know in what world. Any elementary analysis of Israel-Arab relationship and the competitive military edge of Israel by ANY unbiased expert will refute your (rather strange) claims.
 
In U.S. ally Bahrain, Israel deal rallies a weakened opposition

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain may have won international praise for following in the United Arab Emirates’ footsteps and establishing ties with Israel, but the dramatic move by the close U.S. ally could stir a new wave of opposition at home.

While the deal will enable Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim monarchy to win more support from Western and regional partners, it risks deepening political tensions and may energise a long demoralised opposition led by the Shi’ite majority.

Bahrain, host to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and other international naval operations, was the only Gulf Arab state to witness a sizeable pro-democracy uprising in the 2011 “Arab Spring”, which it quashed with Saudi and Emirati help.

Low-level dissent has continued, periodically flaring into rock-throwing skirmishes and crude bomb and shooting attacks, putting the kingdom on the frontline of a region-wide tussle for influence between Iran and its Sunni rival Saudi Arabia.

The government has used an array of powers to quell the unrest: Arrests, security raids, revoking of citizenship and bans on opposition parties and newspapers have helped reduce the risk of big popular protests.

But anger has boiled anew since the deal was announced on Friday.

Sporadic street protests have taken place each night since the accord, which the government says supports “peace between Bahrain and Israel”. The authorities avoid the contested term “normalisation”, which to some suggests entrenching Israel’s diplomatic and military superiority over Palestinians.

“I am Bahraini and the Bahraini regime does not represent me,” read one protest banner, shared on social media.

“Normalisation is treason,” read others.

Asked to comment on opposition to the deal, including opposition allegations that the government has limited the scope of parliamentary debate, a government spokesperson said freedom of opinion and expression are protected by the constitution and the government continued to uphold them robustly.

“The historic diversity of Bahrain has shaped a society that embraces coexistence and tolerance. These principles are vital to securing lasting regional stability and peace, and underpin the declaration of peace signed by the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Israel,” the spokesman said in a statement to Reuters.

Read more:

SHI’ITE CLERIC

Speaking largely from abroad, opposition figures rejected the deal. Bahrain’s top Shi’ite cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim called, from exile in Iran, for the region’s people to resist.

Manama accuses Shi’ite Muslim Iran of seeking to subvert Bahrain. The government denies repressing the opposition and says it is protecting national security from groups it calls terrorists backed by Iran. Tehran denies it backs subversion.

Analysts say despite the surge in popular anger, the deal may have strengthened the government, since traditional allies are more likely to turn a blind eye to any further crackdown.

“The move will garner Bahrain some credit in Washington, which could reduce the already limited pressure Manama faces on its domestic policies from the U.S.,” said Graham Griffiths, associate direct at Control Risks.

Bahrain’s interior minister said shortly after the announcement that the deal with Israel protects Bahrain’s interests amid what he called the danger from Iran.

The island nation has long been heavily dependent on close ally Saudi Arabia, and was bailed out financially in 2018 with a $10 billion aid package from Saudi, the UAE and Kuwait.

“Bahrain is squarely focused on its critical ties with the United States and with its Gulf allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. These political dependencies condition immediate Bahraini alignment with the leadership in Abu Dhabi and Washington on this critical issue,” said Kristin Smith Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

STATE-SANCTIONED CAUSE

Opposition figures say that a week before the agreement was announced, the government prepared for opposition to it by amending a law to further control parliament. A royal decree, announced on Sept. 3, ordered both houses of parliament to limit daily speaker numbers and banned criticism, blame or “accusations that harm the country’s interests”.

“Eroding parliament’s power has been ongoing since 2011 and the last royal decree has actually signed its death certificate,” said Ali Alaswad, a former lawmaker of the main Shi’ite opposition group al-Wefaq, now in exile.

Defending Palestinian rights has been a state-sanctioned cause uniting Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims in Bahrain for decades, and its accord with Israel has left some in a tricky position.

Founded in 2002 and with an office in the capital Manama, the Bahraini Society Against Normalisation with the Zionist Enemy said it was taken unawares.

“Some social media influencers started to accuse us of intolerance and called on the government to dissolve our organisation,” said a founding member, declining to be named.

“The accord with Israel was a complete surprise for us,” he said.

Both UAE and Bahraini officials have sought to reassure the Palestinians their countries are not abandoning their quest for statehood in the West Bank and Gaza, despite Palestinian leaders having decried the deals as a betrayal of their cause.

Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani told state media on Sept. 11 that Bahrain supported the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, a proposal under which normalisation with Israel would entail full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in 1967.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...l-rallies-a-weakened-opposition-idUSKBN2682MA
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"[MBS] has directed local media to publish glowing coverage of the U.A.E. and Bahrain deals. A message to Saudi newspaper editors, seen by The Wall Street Journal, instructed them to defend the moves as historical and honorable.” <a href="https://t.co/stZbjxrwD5">https://t.co/stZbjxrwD5</a></p>— Murtaza M. Hussain (@MazMHussain) <a href="https://twitter.com/MazMHussain/status/1307065074511683589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Bahrain king says accord with Israel not directed against any country

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain’s move to establish ties with Israel was not directed against any entity or power but aimed to bring about a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said on Monday.

The king, in a cabinet statement reported by state news agency BNA, reaffirmed Bahrain’s support for the Palestinians and for an Arab peace initiative drawn up in 2002 that offered Israel normalised ties in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to normalise ties with Israel but without a resolution of Israel’s dispute with the Palestinians, in a strategic realignment of Middle East countries against Iran.

The accord called for “full diplomatic relations” but avoided the term normalization.

“Tolerance and co-existence define our true Bahraini identity...Our steps towards peace and prosperity are not directed against any entity or power, rather they are in everyone’s interest and aim for good neighbourliness,” King Hamad said, quoted by BNA.

Sporadic street protests have broken out in Bahrain since it signed the accord with Israel earlier this month.

Bahrain was the only Gulf Arab state to witness a sizeable pro-democracy uprising in 2011, which it quashed with Saudi and Emirati help. The Sunni-ruled country accuses Shi’ite Muslim Iran of backing subversion, a charge Iran denies.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ot-directed-against-any-country-idUSKCN26C25N
 
Angered by Arab-Israel ties, Palestine quits chairing Arab League sessions

RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestine has quit its current chairmanship of Arab League meetings, the Palestinian foreign minister said on Tuesday, condemning as dishonourable any Arab agreement to establish formal relations with Israel.

Palestinians see the accords that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed with Israel in Washington a week ago as a betrayal of their cause and a blow to their quest for an independent state in Israeli-occupied territory.

Earlier this month, the Palestinians failed to persuade the Arab League to condemn member nations breaking ranks and normalising ties with Israel.

Palestine was supposed to chair Arab League meetings for the next six months, but Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah that it no longer wanted the position.

“Palestine has decided to concede its right to chair the League’s council (of foreign ministers) at its current session. There is no honour in seeing Arabs rush towards normalisation during its presidency,” Maliki said.

After initial remarks, Maliki read from a letter he said he sent to Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit informing him of the Palestinian move and criticising the UAE and Bahrain, both Gulf Arab nations that share Israeli concerns about Iran.

The UAE’s deal with Israel “created a deep crisis in the Arab League” and the accord was followed “by a similar collapse by the Kingdom of Bahrain”, Maliki said, quoting from the letter.

In a new move addressing internal Palestinian divisions, officials from West Bank-based President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction and the Islamist Hamas movement were due to hold reconciliation talks in Turkey on Tuesday.

Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007 from Fatah forces during a brief round of fighting. Differences over power-sharing have delayed implementation of unity deals agreed since then.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-chairing-arab-league-sessions-idUSKCN26D1HZ
 
Palestine has quit its current chairmanship of Arab League meetings, the Palestinian foreign minister said on Tuesday, condemning as dishonourable any Arab agreement to establish formal ties with Israel.

Palestinians see the deals that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed with Israel in Washington a week ago as a betrayal of their cause and a blow to their quest for an independent state in Israeli-occupied territory.

Earlier this month, the Palestinians failed to persuade the Arab League to condemn nations breaking ranks and normalising relations with Israel.

Palestine was supposed to chair Arab League meetings for the next six months, but Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told a news conference in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah that it no longer wanted the position.

"Palestine has decided to concede its right to chair the League's council [of foreign ministers] at its current session. There is no honour in seeing Arabs rush towards normalisation during its presidency," Maliki said.

In his remarks, he did not specifically name the UAE and Bahrain, Gulf Arab countries that share with Israel concern over Iran. He said Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit had been informed of the Palestinian decision.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ole-protest-israel-deals-200922120847668.html
 
Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has questioned the credibility of the international community as it “stands by, unable to take any effective action to confront Israeli intransigence and its continued occupation of Palestinian and Arab land”.

In his video speech at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the emir questioned the role of countries and organisations for failing to uphold the resolutions against the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and its expansion of settlement building.

He accused Israel of carrying out “flagrant violation of international resolutions and the two-state solution as agreed upon by the international community”.

“The international community stands by, unable to take any effective action to confront Israeli intransigence, its continued occupation of Palestinian and Arab land, the imposition of a stifling siege on the Gaza Strip, [and] the expanding settlement policy, among others,” he said.

“Peace can only be achieved when Israel fully commits to the international terms of reference and resolutions that are accepted by the Arab countries and upon which the Arab Peace Initiative is based.”

The Arab Peace Initiative was a plan put forth by Saudi Arabia in 2002 that called for normalising relations with Israel in exchange for an end to its occupation of Palestinian territories, the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as a just solution for Palestinian refugees.


Qatar’s ruler said Israel is trying to “circumvent these parameters” and any arrangements that do not take these factors into account “will not achieve peace”.

“Failure to find a just solution to the Palestinian cause, Israel’s continued settlements, and forcing a reality on the ground without being deterred, this is what raises the biggest question about the credibility of the international community and its institutions,” the emir added.

He called upon the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to assume its legal responsibilities and “compel Israel to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, and to put the peace process back on track through credible negotiations based on international resolutions and not on force”.

Speaking from outside the UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s James Bays said it was interesting to see many Arab states within the Arab League remain consistent in their views on Israel and Palestine – which revolves around the international consensus that there should be a two-state solution.

On September 15, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalise relations with Israel in a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran.

The ceremony was hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House, capping a dramatic month when the countries agreed to normalise ties without a resolution of Israel’s decades-old conflict with the Palestinians, who have condemned the agreements.

Source Al Jazeera
 
Firebat said:
Israel signs historic ‘peace’ deal with UAE that suspends annexation

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a historic Washington-brokered deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories.

However, cracks in the deal became quickly apparent after its announcement on Thursday, with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying there was “no change” to his annexation plans, while the UAE insisted that it “immediately stops annexation”.
Click to expand...

Surprise surprise…

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Netanyahu orders construction of 5,000 new settlement units in West Bank <a href="https://t.co/WKC9aljSGH">https://t.co/WKC9aljSGH</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/MiddleEastMnt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MiddleEastMnt</a></p>— Joshua Landis (@joshua_landis) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshua_landis/status/1310243944186499072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Israel's parliament to ratify UAE deal on Monday, Netanyahu says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he will bring diplomatic accords with the United Arab Emirates before the Israeli parliament on Oct. 12.

Israel and the UAE signed agreements in Washington in September to normalize diplomatic ties and to forge a broad new relationship.

Netanyahu said he intends to get cabinet and parliamentary ratification for the deal, which marks a strategic realignment of Middle East countries against Iran.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...e-deal-on-monday-netanyahu-says-idUSKBN26T2E6
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A senior Saudi prince accused the Palestinian leadership of squandering decades of opportunities to make peace with Israel <a href="https://t.co/oEv8haKvT8">https://t.co/oEv8haKvT8</a></p>— Bloomberg (@business) <a href="https://twitter.com/business/status/1313923817539072002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former Saudi spy chief: Palestinian leaders have been ‘failures’ for 70 years <a href="https://t.co/4EqR4nTlyb">https://t.co/4EqR4nTlyb</a></p>— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimesofIsrael/status/1313316812705001473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Palestinians have reacted furiously to comments by top Saudi royal, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, whose criticism of their leadership and struggle have been interpreted as a move towards normalisation with Israel<a href="https://t.co/DZeqLeDXWa">https://t.co/DZeqLeDXWa</a></p>— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1314690866221645825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Israeli cabinet approves UAE deal, Netanyahu says will meet its leader

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel’s cabinet approved a normalisation deal with the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince had spoken and agreed to meet soon.

The U.S.-brokered “treaty of peace” establishing full relations with the Gulf Arab country broke new diplomatic ground in the region, where concern over Iran is high, even as Palestinians condemned the pact as betrayal of their quest for statehood in Israeli-occupied land.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s de facto leader, tweeted on Monday that he and Netanyahu had discussed strengthening bilateral ties and the prospects for peace in the area.

In an official statement that coincided with an Israeli cabinet vote approving the Sept. 15 agreement with the UAE, Netanyahu said he and Sheikh Mohammed would meet soon, without specifying a date.

“At the weekend, I spoke with my friend, the crown prince ... and invited him to visit Israel,” Netanyahu said. “He invited me to visit Abu Dhabi. But first, we will see a UAE delegation here and another one of our delegations will go there.”

A source familiar with plans for the delegations’ visits said Israeli representatives accompanied by U.S. officials will fly to Bahrain on Oct. 18 and travel on to the UAE the next day before returning to Israel with a UAE team on Oct. 20.

Commenting on his conversation with Sheikh Mohammed, Netanyahu said: “We spoke about cooperation that we are promoting in investment, tourism, energy, technology and other spheres”.

In a sign of burgeoning Israel-UAE cooperation, a ship from the UAE docked on Monday at Israel’s port of Haifa, carrying a cargo of 15 containers along a shipping line between India, the UAE, Israel and the United States.

While the normalisation accord has already inspired commercial deal-making with the Gulf’s trade, finance, tourism and travel hub, Israeli officials have objected to the UAE’s potential purchase of U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter jets in a separate side deal.

Israel is the only Middle East country flying the advanced warplane and has voiced concern its supply to other nations in the region could jeopardise its military edge.

Israel has also said it would oppose any sale of the plane to Qatar, whose Iran links trouble Israel, after a Reuters report that Doha had submitted a formal request to Washington to buy the Lockheed Martin Corp. stealth jet. [nL8N2H206N]

Israeli cabinet approval of the accord with the UAE opened the way for Israel’s parliament to ratify it, in a vote likely to be held later this week.

Israel and Bahrain, which signed a “declaration of peace” at the White House ceremony last month, are still discussing details of a full accord.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...nyahu-says-will-meet-its-leader-idUSKBN26X10Q
 
Abdullah719 said:
Surprise surprise…
Click to expand...

Surprise surprise....


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Israel approves first new settler homes since suspending annexation, NGO says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel approved more than 1,300 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the Peace Now settlement-monitoring group said, in the first such go-ahead since it suspended annexation plans in the territory.

The decision drew an angry response from Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

“We urge the international community to intervene immediately to stop this settlement madness, which destroys any chance for a genuine peace process,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The construction could help mute criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from settler leaders, who are traditional allies.

They had bristled at the annexation suspension that helped pave the way for last month’s deals to forge diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Peace Now said a planning committee in Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank gave final approval for building 1,357 housing units in several settlements.

A spokesman for the administration could not immediately confirm the numbers.

A statement from Beit El settlement said 350 new housing units would be built there. It hailed the committee’s decision as “a tremendous achievement for Beit El”.

The forum, which last held such a hearing eight months ago, was due to reconvene on Thursday to advance additional construction projects in settlements and give final approval for others.

Peace Now said the committee was set to move forward with projects comprising at least 4,430 new settler homes.

Most countries view settlements Israel has built in territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal and as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. The United States and Israel dispute this.

Israel cites historical and biblical links to the West Bank and around 450,000 of its settlers live there, among 3 million Palestinians.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-suspending-annexation-ngo-says-idUSKBN26Z21M
 
Israel sends treaty delegation to Bahrain with Trump aides

MANAMA (Reuters) - An Israeli delegation accompanied by the U.S. treasury secretary arrived in Bahrain on Sunday to formalise nascent relations and broaden Gulf cooperation that Washington has promoted as an anti-Iran bulwark and potential economic bonanza.

Bahrain followed the United Arab Emirates in agreeing last month to normalise ties with Israel, stunning Palestinians who had demanded statehood before any such regional rapprochement.

The breakthrough, overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump, is a foreign policy flourish ahead of his re-election bid next month. For the U.S. allies, it is a chance to close ranks on Iran more overtly.

The Israeli delegation, which flew on an El Al Israel Airlines charter flight from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, was accompanied by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in public remarks to his cabinet, said the delegations would work on cooperation agreements and “establishing the peace treaty”.

Israel and Bahrain signed a “Declaration of Peace, Cooperation, and Constructive Diplomatic and Friendly Relations” at a White House ceremony on Sept. 15, a document that fell short of a formal treaty.

At a ceremony with Mnuchin before take-off, U.S. Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz said that Israel and Bahrain would sign a joint communique “bringing forward tourism and banking and diplomatic relations”.

“I think the opportunity is way beyond just investments,” Mnuchin told reporters on the El Al flight. “It’s in technology, building various different businesses - and in the case of Bahrain as well, really expanding the opportunities for them quite, quite, quite dramatically.”

Read more:

RELATIONSHIP UPGRADE

The Trump administration has been trying to secure more such deals for Israel ahead of the U.S. election and Mnuchin said he hoped the process would continue regardless of who wins at the polls.

Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, speaking in Arabic at an arrival ceremony at Manama airport, said: “This is a great day ... We look forward, Inshallah (God willing), to hosting you in Israel soon.”

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani described the engagement and cooperation as “the most effective, the most sustainable means to bring about a genuine and lasting peace, one which safeguards the rights of the Middle East peoples.”

The signing of the declaration, however, drew anger among Bahrainis at home and abroad. Bahrain, where a Sunni Muslim minority rules a Shi’ite majority population, has said the deal protects its interests from Iran.

El Al Flight 973, a nod to Bahrain’s telephone code, flew over Saudi Arabia, an accommodation by the Gulf powerhouse that has so far resisted U.S. appeals to normalise ties with Israel.

Mnuchin and the other U.S. officials travel on Monday to the UAE, where the accord with Israel has uncorked bilateral commerce. On Tuesday the U.S. dignitaries will join the UAE’s first delegation to Israel.

Though less oil-rich than the UAE, Bahrain - host to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet - has geo-strategic significance.

A Sept. 13 report by Israel’s Intelligence Ministry saw potential for defence cooperation with Bahrain, describing it as threatened by “Shiite political sedition, directed by Iran and its proxies”.

A Bahraini source said a priority for Manama would be cybersecurity cooperation, after a decree issued by the king last week to set up a National Cybersecurity Centre, and tapping Israel’s ecosystem for business startups.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ion-to-bahrain-with-trump-aides-idUSKBN273044
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Israel and the UAE will sign a mutual visa exemption agreement tomorrow, Israeli officials tell me. Israelis visiting UAE will not need a visa. Emiratis visiting Israel will not need a visa. Israel doesn't have such an agreement with any other Arab country</p>— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/1318284385020424192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sudanese officials have confirmed that a senior U.S.-Israeli delegation flew to Sudan on a private jet this week to wrap up a deal that would make Sudan the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel this year. <a href="https://t.co/SvsCgfLdC3">https://t.co/SvsCgfLdC3</a></p>— The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1319380018976460814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Gabbar Singh said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sudanese officials have confirmed that a senior U.S.-Israeli delegation flew to Sudan on a private jet this week to wrap up a deal that would make Sudan the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel this year. <a href="https://t.co/SvsCgfLdC3">https://t.co/SvsCgfLdC3</a></p>— The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1319380018976460814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Sudan is to normalise relations with Israel, US President Donald Trump says - the latest in a series of Arab League countries to do so.

There had been growing speculation Sudan would announce ties in return for being removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Sudan had been a foe of Israel since the latter's founding in 1948.

It comes weeks after similar moves by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

The two Gulf states became the first in the Middle East to recognise Israel in 26 years.

Jordan signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, and Egypt in 1979. Mauritania, an African Arab League member, recognised Israel in 2009 but severed ties 10 years later.

The growing number of Arab countries formalising relations with Israel has been condemned by the Palestinians, who see it as a betrayal of their cause.

Historically, Arab countries conditioned peace talks with Israel on its withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 war and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Shortly after Mr Trump formally moved to remove Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, reporters in Washington were taken to the Oval Office where the president was on the phone to the Sudanese and Israeli leaders.

His aide Judd Deere said the normalisation of ties was "another major step toward building peace in the Middle East with another nation joining the Abraham Accords", the term used for the deals signed with the UAE and Bahrain.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok thanked Mr Trump for removing his country from the US terrorism list and said the Sudanese government was working "towards international relations that best serve our people".

Sudan famously was the site of a declaration against normalisation with Israel in 1967, when the Arab League, meeting in the capital, Khartoum, swore "no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it".

It fought in wars against Israel in 1948 and 1967, provided a haven for Palestinian guerrilla groups and is suspected of sending Iranian arms to Palestinian militants in Gaza several years ago - prompting alleged Israeli air strikes against it.

The political dynamics changed with the overthrow last year of Sudan's long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir and his replacement by a transitional civilian-military council.

Sudan's generals, who wield the real power, have supported establishing relations with Israel as a way to help get US sanctions on Sudan lifted and open the door to badly needed economic aid.

This week, Donald Trump said Sudan would be removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism once the US received $335m (£259m) in compensation for attacks on US embassies in Africa.

The attacks in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 were carried out by al-Qaeda while its leader, Osama bin Laden, was living in Sudan.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54554286
 
Sudan and Israel agree US-brokered deal on normalising relations

What will be the next MENA country to normalise relations with them?

==============

Israel and Sudan have agreed to work towards normalising relations in a deal brokered by the US that would make Sudan the third Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past two months.

Donald Trump sealed the agreement in a phone call on Friday with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his Sudanese counterpart, Abdalla Hamdok, and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s transitional military council.

“The leaders agreed to the normalisation of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations,” a joint statement by the three countries said.

However, it was not immediately clear whether Sudan’s transitional government has the authority to strike such a deal. The country remains without a parliament and elections are due in 2022.

Trump sought to score domestic political points over Joe Biden, his challenger in next month’s US presidential election, asking Netanyahu:“Do you think Sleepy Joe could have made this deal?”

Netanyahu responded: “Uh … one thing I can tell you is, we appreciate the help for peace from anyone in America.”

Trump, seeking to appeal to pro-Israel voters, has pushed countries in the Arab world to normalise relations with the Jewish state. Last month the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish ties with Israel under US-mediated deals, despite protests from the Palestinian leadership.

Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior Palestinian Liberation Organisation official, described Sudan’s decision as a “new stab in the back”.

Though Khartoum has been largely marginal to Middle Eastern politics in recent decades, the normalisation has significant symbolic value. After the 1967 war, Arab powers met in Khartoum to pledge three “noes”: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel.

Netanyahu said Sudan was now saying the opposite. “Yes to peace with Israel, yes to the recognition of Israel, and yes to normalisation with Israel. This is a new era.”

Khartoum’s fragile transitional government had come under heavy pressure from Washington, which offered incentives, including help to access billions of dollars of desperately needed financial assistance from multilateral organisations.

As part of the agreement, Trump took steps to remove Sudan from a US government list of countries accused of promoting terrorism.

In a statement, the White House said Sudan and Israel had agreed to end the state of belligerence between their nations, and to begin economic and trade relations, with an initial focus on agriculture.

“This is obviously a great breakthrough,” Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, told Reuters.
“Getting peace agreements done are not as easy as we are making them look right now. They are very hard to do.”

The announcement came after sunset in Israel and during Shabbat, the Jewish holy day of rest, when the country largely closes down, meaning there was little immediate response from politicians or the public.

While Sudan has far from fully committed to the deal, it will be seen in Israel as a major step forward. Unlike the UAE and Bahrain, which have never fought with the Jewish state, Sudan sent forces to fight in the war around Israel’s creation in 1948 and during the six-day war of 1967. In the 1970s, Israel backed Sudanese insurgents fighting the Khartoum government.

Raphael Ahren, a journalist for the Times of Israel newspaper, wrote earlier on Friday that peace with Sudan would be a “whole new ball game” in comparison with the UAE and Bahrain deals. “For one, a warm yes from the capital known for the ‘three noes’ would likely have a tremendous psychological impact on Israelis. ‘Those who used to reject us so bitterly have finally embraced us,’ many might reasonably say.”

However, resistance in Sudan is likely to be significant. Hamdok said last month that he had told the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, he would not link his country’s removal from the terrorism list with normalisation of relations with Israel.

Before his fall in 2019, the authoritarian ruler Omar al-Bashir had shifted from a de facto alliance with Iran to closer relations with Saudi Arabia, and there have been contacts between the intelligence services of Israel and Sudan in recent years.

Burhan, the most senior figure under the country’s power-sharing arrangement, held an unannounced meeting with Netanyahu in Uganda this year. Netanyahu later said the two governments were “establishing cooperative relations”, and Sudan has agreed to allow flights to Israel to fly over its territory.

The military leaders in the mixed transitional government appear to have been more enthusiastic about the normalisation of ties with Israel than the civilian leaders, who fear that the legitimacy of the new administration may be undermined by the move.

But the deal is a testament to the influence still wielded by the US in east Africa. Washington has moved to incrementally restore relations with Sudan over recent years, but has insisted that outstanding legal claims are settled before the country is struck from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Sudan has agreed to pay $335m in compensation to victims of the al-Qaida bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. A US court decided that the Bashir regime had provided crucial assistance to Osama bin Laden’s group and was therefore partially responsible for the attacks.

Earlier on Friday, Trump told Congress he would formally strike Sudan from the terrorism list. Congress will have to approve the president’s decision.

The designation as a state sponsor of terrorism has denied Sudan access to debt relief and foreign financing. Meanwhile, the country’s economy has been crippled by decades of Bashir’s misrule, continuing internal conflict, recent political upheaval and the Covid-19 pandemic. Millions of people are facing hardship as food and fuel prices have soared.

In a tweet earlier on Friday, Hamdok thanked Trump for signing the executive order to remove Sudan from the list. “We’re working closely with the US administration and Congress to conclude the … removal process in a timely manner. We work towards international relations that best serve our people” the tweet read.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...grees-us-brokered-deal-to-normalise-relations
 
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Iran says U.S.-brokered Sudan-Israel deal secured by 'ransom'

(Reuters) - Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday described a U.S.-brokered Sudan-Israel deal to normalise ties as “phoney” and accused Khartoum of paying a ransom in return for Washington removing it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The deal agreed on Friday marked the third Arab government after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to set aside hostilities with Israel in the last two months.

“Pay enough ransom, close your eyes to the crimes against Palestinians, then you’ll be taken off the so-called ‘terrorism’ blacklist,” the ministry tweeted in English. “Obviously, the list is as phoney as the U.S. fight against terrorism. Shameful.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday he would take Sudan off the list once it had deposited $335 million it had pledged to pay in compensation.

Khartoum has since placed the funds in a special escrow account for victims of al Qaeda attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Trump also said the Palestinians “are wanting to do something” but offered no proof. Palestinian leaders have condemned recent Arab overtures to Israel as a betrayal of their nationalist cause for statehood in Israeli-occupied territories. They have refused to engage with the Trump administration, seeing it as biased in favour of Israel.

In recent weeks the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to agree to formal relations with Israel, forged largely through shared fears of Iran.

The military and civilian leaders of Sudan’s transitional government have been divided over how fast and how far to go in establishing ties with Israel.

A sticking point in the negotiations was Sudan’s insistence that any announcement of Khartoum’s delisting from terrorism designation not be explicitly linked to relations with Israel.

Sudan’s 1993 designation as a state sponsor of terrorism dates to its toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir and has made it difficult for the transitional government in Khartoum to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...n-israel-deal-secured-by-ransom-idUSKBN2790B2
 
Israeli minister says normalisation deals need U.S. president tough on Iran

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Qatar are among countries slated to establish relations with Israel under a regional rapprochement launched by U.S. President Donald Trump, an Israeli official said on Monday.

Straying from Israel’s reticence about Tuesday’s U.S. election, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said implementing further normalisation deals could depend on the next president displaying continued “resolve” against Iran.

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden wants to rejoin the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal that the Republican incumbent quit, to the satisfaction of Israel and some Gulf Arabs.

Trump, who has played up his Middle East policy while campaigning, was asked last week which countries might follow the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in normalising ties with Israel. “We have five definites,” he responded.

Cohen said Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Morocco and Niger were “on the agenda”.

“These are the five countries,” he told Ynet TV. “And if the Trump policy continues, we will be able to reach additional agreements.”

While not explicitly favouring either U.S. candidate, Cohen argued that Trump’s policy had prompted Arab and Muslim countries to seek accommodation with Israel.

If the next president “does show resolve vis-a-vis Iran, then what will happen is that they will take their time, will not rush, will not choose a side,” Cohen said. “A concessionary policy will gets the peace deals stuck.”

Saudi Arabia, the Gulf powerhouse and Islam’s birthplace, quietly acquiesced to the UAE and Bahrain deals with Israel, signed on Sept. 15. But Riyadh has stopped short of endorsing them, and signalled it is not ready to follow suit.

The Saudis were the architects of a 2002 Israeli-Arab peace proposal that called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied land to make way for a Palestinian state.

Qatar, which has links to Iran and Hamas, has ruled out normalisation before Palestinians achieve statehood.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...eed-u-s-president-tough-on-iran-idUSKBN27I1NO
 
US getting $335 million foreign aid from Sudan is a bit of a turn up. Trump has really taken the country backward if they need help from Sudan.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
US getting $335 million foreign aid from Sudan is a bit of a turn up. Trump has really taken the country backward if they need help from Sudan.
Click to expand...

These things are usually just symbolic and oy for show. For diplomacy purposes.
 
Israel rebuked for 'biggest demolition of Palestinian homes in years'

The United Nations has rebuked Israel for carrying out what it said was the biggest demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank for a decade.

Some 73 people, including 41 children, were made homeless when their dwellings were knocked down in the Bedouin settlement of Khirbet Humsa, in the Jordan Valley, the UN said.

The Israeli military said the structures had been built illegally.

But the UN called the Israeli actions a "grave breach" of international law.

According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), 76 structures - including homes, animal shelters, toilets and solar panels - were destroyed when Israeli bulldozers moved in late on Tuesday.

Israeli authorities put the figure considerably lower, saying an "enforcement activity" had been carried out involving seven tents and eight animal pens.

Footage from the scene following the demolition, released by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, showed the area strewn with wreckage including twisted metal, sheets and cots.

"This is a great injustice," resident Harb Abu al-Kabash told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "We didn't know they were coming and we didn't prepare, and now we are facing rain."

In a statement, the Israeli military body responsible for civilian affairs in the West Bank said the destroyed structures had been "built illegally in a firing zone", or military training area.

Ocha said Khirbet Humsa, known as Humsa al-Bqaiaa in Arabic, was one of 38 communities fully or partially located within Israeli-designated "firing zones" and which constitute "some of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank".

It said such demolitions were "grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention" - international law designed to protect civilian populations in occupied territories.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Under subsequent agreements, Palestinians exercise limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank, while Israel has overall control.

Khirbet Humsa lies in an area outside of Palestinian control.

Palestinian communities in Israeli-administered areas complain that trying to obtain building permits there is often futile.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54823660
 
Israel, Bahrain agree to open embassies

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and Bahrain will open embassies soon, their foreign ministers said on Wednesday, as the two countries look to broaden cooperation that Washington has promoted as an anti-Iran alliance and potential economic bonanza.

On a first official visit by Bahraini officials to Israel, the Gulf kingdom’s foreign minister, Abdullatif Al-Zayani, said his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Asshkenazi, would visit Manama in December.

“I was pleased to convey to Minister Ashkenazi the Kingdom of Bahrain’s formal request to open an embassy in Israel and to inform him that Israel’s reciprocal request for an embassy in Manama has been approved. This is a process which I hope can now move forward relatively quickly,” said Al-Zayani.

Askenazi, speaking at Israel’s foreign ministry with Al-Zayani, said he hoped the opening ceremonies would be held by the end of 2020.

Israeli and Bahrani officials signed several memoranda of understanding in October in Manama covering trade, air services, telecommunications, finance, banking and agriculture.

VISAS AND FLIGHTS

By the end of 2020 Bahraini citizens will be able to apply online for a visa to visit Israel, Ashkenazi said, and direct flights would start soon.

The Bahraini delegation travelled on Gulf Air flight GF972 - a reference to Israel’s telephone country code - on the airline’s first commercial flight to Tel Aviv.

President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Avi Berkowitz, was also on the flight, which flew over Saudi Arabia, an accommodation by the Gulf’s powerhouse, which has so far resisted U.S. appeals to normalise ties with Israel.

Since September, the Trump administration has brokered agreements with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan toward normalising their relations with Israel in a strategic realignment against Iran.

The shift has enraged the Palestinians who have demanded statehood before any such regional rapprochement.

Although White House officials have said more countries are considering normalising ties with Israel, further developments appear unlikely before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office and establishes his administration’s policy on Iran.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen, speaking on Army Radio, said a commitment towards a tough policy on Iran by the next administration in Washington would determine whether other countries would opt for normalisation deals with Israel.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...bahrain-agree-to-open-embassies-idUSKBN27Y0LT
 
Pompeo makes unprecedented visit to Israeli settlement in West Bank

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is touring a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, marking the first such visit by a top US official.

The trip to Psagot comes a year after Mr Pompeo said the settlements did not contradict international law, reversing a long-held US position.

The declaration outraged Palestinians, who oppose settlements on land they claim for a future independent state.

Mr Pompeo will later pay a similar visit to the occupied Golan Heights.

President Donald Trump last year officially recognised Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981.

Mr Pompeo arrived in Israel on Wednesday for what is likely to be his last trip to Israel before leaving office in January.

On Thursday morning, he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

At a joint news conference, Mr Pompeo announced that the state department would declare as anti-Semitic the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which campaigns for a complete boycott of Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians.

"We will immediately take steps to identify organisations that engage in hateful BDS conduct and withdraw US government support for such groups," he said.

Israel says that BDS opposes the country's very existence and is motivated by anti-Semitism - BDS rejects the charge, saying Israel is using it as a cover for its actions.

Mr Pompeo then travelled to the Psagot winery in a Jewish settlement close to Ramallah - where a wine has already been named in his honour.

The visit comes a year after he said that settlements were "not, per se, inconsistent with international law", breaking from decades of US foreign policy.

"For a long time the state department took the wrong view of settlements. It took a view that didn't recognise the history of this special place and instead now today the United States department of state stands strongly to the recognition that settlements can be done in a way that's lawful and appropriate and proper," Mr Pompeo told reporters in Jerusalem.

More than 600,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Palestinian leaders warned last week that visit by the top US diplomat to the Psagot winery would be a provocation and set a dangerous precedent.

There have already been protests. On Wednesday, dozens of Palestinians demonstrated in al-Bireh, a community between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to reverse Mr Pompeo's declaration on settlements, but he has said he will not undo Mr Trump's decision in 2017 to recognise of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Mr Pompeo will also go to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Thursday.

"The simple recognition of this as part of Israel... was a decision President Trump made that is historically important and simply a recognition of the reality," he said.

Syria said last year that Mr Trump's decision was "a blatant attack on its sovereignty".

Israel's annexation of the Golan has not been recognised by the rest of the international community, and Syria demands the return of the territory. It called Mr Trump's declaration "a blatant attack on its sovereignty".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54999008
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“We are both excited to bring the fruits of peace to our people and countries in such a short time," says <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Israel</a>’s Prime Minister Benjamin <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Netanyahu?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Netanyahu</a> after a phone call with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bahraini?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bahraini</a> Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa.<a href="https://t.co/AH1dBpnm7G">https://t.co/AH1dBpnm7G</a></p>— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/1331213199056703488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Israel edges towards new national election in festering coalition crisis

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel edged towards an early election, its fourth in two years, after parliament on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a bill to dissolve itself amid a crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fractious coalition.

The legislation, brought by the opposition but supported by Defence Minister Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s main coalition partner, still needs to pass three future parliamentary votes to become law, giving both men some breathing room to resolve their differences.

Netanyahu, head of the right-wing Likud party, and Gantz, who leads the centrist Blue and White Faction, are at odds over the passing of a national budget.

Gantz, who challenged Netanyahu in three inconclusive elections since mid-2019, joined a coalition government with Israel’s longest-serving leader in May marked by frequent feuding.

https://www.reuters.com/article/isr...n-in-festering-coalition-crisis-idUSKBN28C1XW
 
I do feel for the Palestinians, but let's be real, the Islamic nations only appeared to care for their cause for the optics. I very much dislike this whole 'we care about them because their our Muslim brothers', it should be seen as a humanitarian thing first, even though I accept biases do occur.

Anyway, I digress, this is good for the nations involved, but I do worry about Palestine's future now. It seems hopeless, and inevitable that Israel will complete their illegal occupation. I want to say this will leave an indelible mark on humanity, but I'm not so sure that this injustice will be remembered in the coming centuries.
 
Ethiopian Jews flown to Israel in latest operation

Hundreds of Ethiopian Jews have been airlifted to Israel - the first of several thousand waiting to emigrate there in a long-running saga.

Most of their community has lived in transit camps in Ethiopia for years as questions over their eligibility has dogged the process.

The immigrants are related to Ethiopian Jews brought to Israel decades ago in a series of secret operations.

Israel had been accused of delaying bringing the remaining group in.

The issue gained greater urgency in recent weeks as fighting between the Ethiopian government and local forces in the Tigray region threatened to spread south to Gondar city, where most of the Jews are now housed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival, Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, greeted the 316 new arrivals at Ben Gurion Airport.

"My wife Sarah and I stood there with tears in our eyes at the welcoming," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement, "when we see the immigrants, our Ethiopian Jewish brothers, leave the plane... come down and touch the ground, the land of Israel.

"You waited so long to realise the dream and today it is being realised."

Immigration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata - herself an Ethiopian-born immigrant brought to Israel in a clandestine airlift in 1984 - went to Ethiopia to oversee Thursday's transfer, dubbed Operation Rock of Israel.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55171742
 
Bahrain open to imports from Israeli settlements, Palestinians fume

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Bahrain’s imports from Israel will not be subject to distinctions between products made within Israel and those from settlements in occupied territory, the Bahraini trade minister said on Thursday, drawing a rebuke from the Palestinians.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates formalised ties with Israel on Sept. 15, in a U.S.-sponsored deal billed by the Gulf countries as being made possible by Israel’s shelving of a plan to annex West Bank settlements. Most world powers deem them illegal.

But Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani voiced openness to settlement imports.

“We will treat Israeli products as Israeli products. So we have no issue with labelling or origin,” he told Reuters during a visit to Israel.

Under European Union guidelines, settlement products should be clearly labelled as such when exported to EU member countries. The Trump administration last month removed U.S. customs distinctions between goods made within Israel and in settlements.

Al-Zayani’s remarks were condemned by Wasel Abu Youssef of the Palestine Liberation Organization as “contradicting international and U.N. resolutions”.

He urged Arab countries not to import products from within Israel, either, in order to prevent it “stretching into Arab markets to strengthen its economy”.

The stateless Palestinians hope to create their own independent country in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, but the issue of Jewish settlements on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War has long been a stumbling block in the now-stalemated peace process.

They now fear that the warming ties between Gulf states and Israel, along with Trump’s strong support for Israel, have badly damaged their aspirations.

It was not clear what other Gulf states’ positions on imports from the settlements were. But an Israeli winery that uses grapes grown on the occupied Golan Heights said in September that its labels would be sold in the UAE.

Israel expects trade with Bahrain worth around $220 million in 2021, not including possible defence and tourism deals.

Al-Zayani said Bahraini carrier Gulf Air was tentatively scheduled to begin flights to Tel Aviv on Jan. 7, with shipping to follow.

“We are fascinated by how integrated IT and innovation sector in Israel has been embedded in every facet of life,” he said.

He played down speculation in Israel that its citizens visiting Bahrain could be at risk of reprisals for the assassination last Friday of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, which Tehran blamed on Israeli agents.

“We don’t see any threats, and therefore we don’t see any requirement for additional security or special treatment for Israelis,” he said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...i-settlements-palestinians-fume-idUSKBN28D1O5
 
Somewhat strange scenario where Ethiopians are being shipped into Palestine on account of being jews, yet Palestinians have been forced to give up their lands and live as refugees in neighbouring countries.
 
Bahrain will not allow the import of Israeli goods produced in settlements in illegally occupied Palestinian territory, state news agency BNA reported on Saturday, disavowing comments made by the Gulf state’s trade minister earlier this week.

Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani had voiced openness to settlement imports, adding that Manama would make no distinction between goods produced in Israel or in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights.

Al-Zayani was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency that Bahrain “will treat Israeli products as Israeli products … so we have no issue with labelling or origin”.

“The minister’s statement was misinterpreted and that the ministry is committed to the Bahraini government’s unwavering stance regarding adherence to the resolutions of the United Nations,” BNA reported late on Friday, quoting an official source from the ministry of industry, commerce and tourism.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates formalised ties with Israel on September 15 under a United States-sponsored deal billed by the Gulf states as being made possible by Israel’s shelving of a plan to annex West Bank settlements. Most world powers deem the plan, which was decided without the Palestinians, illegal.

Under European Union guidelines, settlement products should be clearly labelled as such when exported to EU member countries.

Last month, the Trump administration removed US customs distinctions between goods made within Israel and in settlements.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said his Bahraini counterpart also denied the industry minister’s comments in a phone call.

“The alleged comments … totally contradicted his country’s [Bahrain] supportive position of the Palestinian cause,” a statement from al-Maliki’s office said.

Israel expects trade with Bahrain to be worth around $220m in 2021, not including possible defence and tourism deals.

Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital, but the issue of Jewish settlements on land captured by Israel in 1967 has long been a stumbling block in the peace process, which is now at an impasse.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/5/bahrain-will-not-allow-imports-from-israeli-settlements
 
Saudi prince strongly criticises Israel at Bahrain summit

A prominent Saudi prince harshly criticised Israel on Sunday at a Bahrain security summit that was remotely attended by Israel’s foreign minister.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, who led Saudi intelligence for more than two decades and served as ambassador to the United States and Britain, warned that any normalisation deals needed to help the Palestinians obtain their own independent state.

He described Israel as a “Western colonising” power. He said Israel has “incarcerated (Palestinians) in concentration camps under the flimsiest of security accusations — young and old, women and men, who are rotting there without recourse to justice. They are demolishing homes as they wish and they assassinate whomever they want.”

Although the prince does not hold any official position, his stance is seen as closely mirroring that of King Salman. In contrast, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has signalled a greater willingness to quietly engage with Israel to counter common rival, Iran, and boost foreign investment in the kingdom.

Prince Turki’s comments come as neighbouring Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recently moved to normalise relations and establish ties with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has insisted that any normalisation between it and Israel can only happen alongside a lasting peace deal involving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, who spoke immediately after Prince Turki, said: “I would like to express my regret on the comments of the Saudi representative.

“I don’t believe that they reflect the spirit and the changes taking place in the Middle East,” he said.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1594325/saudi-prince-strongly-criticises-israel-at-bahrain-summit
 
UAE target of cyberattacks after Israel deal: cyber security chief

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the target of cyberattacks after establishing formal ties with Israel, the Gulf Arab state’s cyber security head said on Sunday.

The UAE in August broke with decades of Arab policy when it agreed to forge ties with Israel in a move that angered Palestinians and some Muslim states and communities. Bahrain and Sudan have followed suit.

“Our relationship, for example, with the normalisation with Israel really opened a whole huge attacks from some other activists against the UAE,” Head of Cyber Security Mohamed Hamad al-Kuwaiti said during an onstage interview at a conference in Dubai.

Kuwaiti said the financial sector was targeted but did not elaborate. He did not say if any of the attacks were successful or provide details on who the perpetrators were.

He also told the conference that the number of cyberattacks in the UAE increased sharply after the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Kuwaiti said traditionally many attacks in the region originate from Iran, without specifying who is behind them.

Iran has also said that it has been a victim of hacking.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1594331/uae-target-of-cyberattacks-after-israel-deal-cyber-security-chief
 
This is like a Catholic investing in Glasgow Rangers in 70s or 80s, or a black person buying Millwall - what a weird decision.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem has never fielded an Arab player. Its fans chant "death to Arabs" and sometimes attack Palestinian workers at a mall near the stadium. And the club's new co-owner is... a cousin of the UAE's de facto ruler. <a href="https://t.co/I1LzlNQ8kf">https://t.co/I1LzlNQ8kf</a></p>— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) <a href="https://twitter.com/glcarlstrom/status/1336175901621575680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UAE sheikh buys stake in Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem, long tainted by accusations of anti-Arab racism <a href="https://t.co/DrfOnbZCzb">https://t.co/DrfOnbZCzb</a></p>— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1336287496402051072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalise relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.

As part of the agreement, US President Donald Trump agreed to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old territorial dispute with Morocco pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory.

Trump sealed the agreement in a phone call on Thursday with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, a senior US official said.

Morocco is the fourth country since August to strike a deal aimed at normalising relations with Israel. The others were the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

Palestinians have been critical of the normalisation deals, saying Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a longstanding demand that Israel give up land for a Palestinian state before it can receive recognition.

‘Not a realistic option’

Under the agreement, Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel, grant overflights, and also direct flights to and from Israel for all Israelis.

“They are going reopen their liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately with the intention to open embassies. And they are going to promote economic cooperation between Israeli and Moroccan companies,” White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told reporters.

The US will also recognise Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara, the former Spanish North African territory that has been a long-running dispute that has confounded international negotiators for decades, a White House statement said.

“The United States believes that an independent Sahrawi state is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution,” it said.

“We urge the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco’s autonomy plan as the only framework to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.”

Morocco, a country with centuries of Jewish history, has long been rumored to be ready to establish ties with Israel.

Before Israel’s establishment in 1948, Morocco was home to a large Jewish population, many of whose ancestors migrated to North Africa from Spain and Portugal during the Spanish Inquisition.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews trace their lineage to Morocco, making it one of the country’s largest sectors of Israeli society, and a small community of Jews, estimated at several thousand people, continues to live in Morocco.

The North African country has for years had informal ties with Israel.

Israel and Morocco established low-level diplomatic relations during the 1990s following Israel’s interim peace accords with the Palestinians, but those ties were suspended after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000.

Since then, however, the informal ties have continued, and an estimated 50,000 Israelis travel to Morocco each year on trips to learn about the Jewish community and retrace their family historie

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ee-to-normalise-relations-in-us-brokered-deal
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Morocco recognized the United States in 1777. It is thus fitting we recognize their sovereignty over the Western Sahara.</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1337067127455539201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Israeli envoys fly to Morocco to see king, firm up U.S.-brokered ties

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel sent envoys to Morocco on Tuesday to meet its king and hammer out an upgrade of ties that was forged by the White House in a parting foreign-policy push by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, the delegates were accompanied to Rabat by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and architect of pan-Arab rapprochements with Israel.

They took El Al Israel Airlines in the first direct flight by a commercial plane from Tel Aviv to Rabat, opening the way for a possible surge in tourism among the hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Moroccan descent.

Palestinians have been critical of U.S.-brokered normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, saying the Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a longstanding demand Israel give up land for a Palestinian state before receiving recognition.

As the Trump administration has sought to isolate Iran, the normalisation deals have been sweetened with promises of business opportunity or economic aid. Israel’s new partners have also seen bilateral benefits from Washington - in Rabat’s case, U.S. recognition of its sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

Ben-Shabbat and Kushner will see Morocco’s King Mohammed during a two-day trip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The jet was painted with the Hebrew, Arabic and English words for “peace” and a palm-shaped Maghreb good-luck talisman.

Some U.S. officials have privately voiced hope of hosting an Israel-Morocco signing ceremony at the White House before Trump steps down on Jan. 20.

Facing domestic dissenters at the engagement with Israel, Moroccan ministers have cast it as a formalisation of de facto relations under which Rabat had hosted an Israeli “liaison office”. Shut in 2000 in solidarity with the Palestinians, that office will now reopen. Israel hopes for mutual embassies, eventually.

“This type of agreement will help have a better interaction between communities and people,” Moroccan Tourism Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui told Israeli television channel I24.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-kushner-to-hammer-out-new-ties-idUSKBN28W0SP
 
U.S. ready to mediate discussions between Israel and Lebanon -Pompeo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said the United States is ready to keep working with Israel and Lebanon on negotiations for a maritime boundary, as the countries struggle to come to an agreement.

“Regrettably, despite goodwill on both sides, the parties remain far apart,” Pompeo said in a statement.  “The United States remains ready to mediate constructive discussions and urges both sides to negotiate based on the respective maritime claims both have previously deposited at the United Nations. ”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...tween-israel-and-lebanon-pompeo-idUSKBN28W1HS
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The historic EL AL flight LY555 to Rabat, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Morocco?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Morocco</a> will depart (Dec 22) from Ben Gurion Intl Airport carrying a senior &#55356;&#56814;&#55356;&#56817;&#55356;&#56826;&#55356;&#56824; delegation.<br><br>The plane was specially decorated to reflect &#55356;&#56814;&#55356;&#56817;&#55356;&#56818;&#55356;&#56806; shared cultural tradition & the word <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/peace?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#peace</a> in Hebrew, Arabic & English.<br><br>&#55357;&#56567;/EL-AL <a href="https://t.co/a8No1JO5mg">pic.twitter.com/a8No1JO5mg</a></p>— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1341088025158234112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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Erdogan says Turkey would like better ties with Israel, criticised Palestine policy

ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would like to have better ties with Israel, but criticised Israeli policy toward Palestinians as “unacceptable” and a “red line” for Ankara, adding that intelligence talks resumed between the two sides.

The two countries have had a bitter falling out in recent years, despite strong commercial ties, expelling ambassadors in 2018. Ankara has repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation in the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians.

Speaking to reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Erdogan said Turkey had issues with “people at the top level” in Israel and that ties could have been “very different” if it were not for those issues.

“The Palestine policy is our red line. It is impossible for us to accept Israel’s Palestine policies. Their merciless acts there are unacceptable,” Erdogan said.

“If there were no issues at the top level, our ties could have been very different,” he added. “We would like to bring our ties to a better point.”

Turkey and Israel, former allies, expelled each other’s top diplomats in 2018 over clashes when dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on the Gaza border. Ankara and Tel Aviv continue to trade with one another.

In August, Israel accused Turkey of giving passports to a dozen Hamas members in Istanbul, describing the move as “a very unfriendly step” which his government would raise with Turkish officials.

Hamas seized Gaza from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007, and the group has fought three wars with Israel since then. Turkey says Hamas is a legitimate political movement that was elected democratically.

Israel, which has formalised ties with four Muslim countries this year, said on Wednesday it was working towards normalising ties with a fifth Muslim nation, possibly in Asia. Tunisia said on Tuesday it did not intend to normalise ties.

Ankara has slammed the U.S.-brokered rapprochements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, with Erdogan previously threatening to suspend diplomatic ties with the UAE and withdraw its envoy. It also slammed Bahrain’s decision to formalise ties as a blow to efforts to defend the Palestinian cause.

Palestinians have censured the U.S.-brokered deals, seeing a betrayal of a long-standing demand that Israel first meet their statehood demand. Egypt and Israel established full relations in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

Israel will hold a snap election in March after parliament failed on Tuesday to meet a deadline to pass a budget.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ael-criticizes-palestine-policy-idUSKBN28Z0MF
 
Israeli air attacks cause injuries, damage in Gaza Strip

The Israeli military has carried out air raids targeting Hamas positions in the besieged Gaza Strip, injuring two people and causing damage, Palestinian media reported.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli warplanes fired a series of missiles on Saturday in the eastern, northwestern and central parts of the Gaza Strip, including open farmland, wounding a six-year-old girl and a man in his 20s.

The attacks caused power cuts in the eastern parts and caused some damage to a children’s hospital, a centre for disabled people, and shattered the windows of some residential buildings, according to the reports.

However, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Twitter that the raids hit a rocket manufacturing site and a military post belonging to Hamas – the group that governs the Gaza Strip – adding that the attack had been carried out in response to rocket fire from Gaza.

According to the army, a rocket was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Friday night, shortly after warning sirens sounded in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Israeli media said the projectile was intercepted by the army’s Iron Dome anti-missile air defence system.

No Palestinian group in Gaza has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, which broke months of relative calm, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza, including those claimed by other fighter groups based in the enclave.

The impoverished and densely populated Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007, after Hamas took over the coastal enclave.

Hamas and Israel reached an agreement at the end of September to cease hostilities, although attacks continued.

The ceasefire followed a deadly surge in violence and was to see Israel allow new development projects, including an industrial zone and a hospital.

Hamas has accused Israel of not fully complying with the deal.

Israel, which deems Hamas a “terrorist” organisation, shuns direct negotiations and has never publicly acknowledged the truce.

Israel has launched three offensives against the Gaza Strip since 2008, and there have been numerous flare-ups.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/26/israeli-air-attacks-gaza-injuries
 
Peace with Israel and all around the world sounds lovely on paper.

However, Politicians like Netanyahu and the entire Likud party paints a pretty dark picture of Israeli Neo-Zionists and their attitude towards non-Jews.

  • Their treatment towards Palestinians is merciless.
  • Their attitude towards peace initiatives and accountability of settler crimes is woeful.
  • Their history of sabotage and assassination through Mossad is unrelenting.
  • Their open in their support of India and it's ridiculous right-wing frenzy gripping the country at the moment.


I see little reason for anyone to cozy up with Israel except certain Gulf States and the speculative dealings it's leaders have with the White House and US Military.

I'm all ears if anyone can help with what Pakistan could gain from "friendship" with Israel.
 
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observer1 said:
Peace with Israel and all around the world sounds lovely on paper.

However, Politicians like Netanyahu and the entire Likud party paints a pretty dark picture of Israeli Neo-Zionists and their attitude towards non-Jews.

  • Their treatment towards Palestinians is merciless.
  • Their attitude towards peace initiatives and accountability of settler crimes is woeful.
  • Their history of sabotage and assassination through Mossad is unrelenting.
  • Their open in their support of India and it's ridiculous right-wing frenzy gripping the country at the moment.


I see little reason for anyone to cozy up with Israel except certain Gulf States and the speculative dealings it's leaders have with the White House and US Military.

I'm all ears if anyone can help with what Pakistan could gain from "friendship" with Israel.
Click to expand...

The gulf states want Israeli tech especially cyber tech fot snooping around. Arab has fallen. Its all upto Ajam now.
 
Sudan has signed the “Abraham Accords” with the United States despite the move being rejected by its political parties when it was first announced in October last year.

A statement from the office of Sudan’s prime minister on Wednesday said Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari signed the accord with visiting US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The understanding in Khartoum to provide a same-day bridge financing facility to clear Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank”, her office said in a statement.

“This move will enable Sudan to regain access to over $1 billion in annual financing from the World Bank for the first time in 27 years,” the statement added.

The US embassy in Khartoum said the agreement will “help further Sudan on its transformative path to stability, security, and economic opportunity”.

The signing came just over two months after US President Donald Trump announced that Sudan would start to normalise ties with Israel.

Sudanese political parties rejected the government’s decision to normalise relations with Israel at the time it was announced, with officials saying they will form an opposition front against the agreement.

In a statement, Sudan’s Popular Congress Party, the second most prominent component of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) political coalition, said in October that Sudanese people were not obligated to accept the normalisation deal.

Sudan’s former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi also slammed the announcement, adding that he withdrew from a government-organised conference at the time in protest.

Last year, the Trump administration engineered diplomatic pacts between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — the first since Jordan recognised Israel in the 1990s and Egypt in the 1970s. Morocco also established diplomatic ties with Israel.

The agreements are all with countries that are geographically distant from Israel and have played a minor role, if any, in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The accords have also contributed to the severe isolation and weakening of the Palestinians by eroding a long-standing Arab consensus that recognition of Israel should only be given in return for concessions in the peace process.

Sudan’s economy

Mnuchin’s one-day visit focused on the country’s struggling economy and possible US economic assistance, including debt relief, the statement said.

Sudan has more than $60bn in foreign debt. Relief from its arrears and access to foreign loans are widely seen as its gateway to economic recovery.

The government has been struggling with a huge budget deficit and widespread shortages of essential goods, including fuel, bread and medicine.

Annual inflation soared past 200 percent in recent months as prices of bread and other staples surged, according to official figures.

Last month, Trump’s administration finalised the removal of Sudan from the US list of “state sponsors of terrorism”. The move was a key incentive for the government in Khartoum to normalise relations with Israel.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/6/sudan-says-it-signed-abraham-accords-with-us
 
Visa free travel between Israel and the UAE.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced that the United Arab Emirates (<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAE</a>) has ratified the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/visa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#visa</a> exemption agreement between the two countries, the first between the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jewish?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jewish</a> state and an Arab country.<a href="https://t.co/XmCAxfS4DR">https://t.co/XmCAxfS4DR</a></p>— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) <a href="https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1349427279726784512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Israel-Sudan signing ceremony in Washington within months, minister says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and Sudan will finalise a diplomatic deal to normalise relations at a signing ceremony in Washington in the next three months, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday.

There was no immediate comment from Sudanese officials or from the U.S. embassy in Israel.

Sudan’s civilian government has said the deal to normalise relations with Israel can only take effect once approved by a transitional legislative council that is yet to be formed.

Sudan joined the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco last year in agreeing to move toward normal relations with Israel in U.S.-brokered deals. The new U.S. administration of President Joe Biden has said it wants to build on those deals.

“The peace agreement’s draft is progressing and a signing ceremony for Israel and Sudan is expected in Washington in the next three months,” Cohen told Israel’s Ynet TV.

Cohen headed a delegation to Sudan on Monday to discuss advancing the normalisation deal. He told Ynet TV that officials discussed three economic plans as well as border security.

Cohen said he brought his hosts oil and fruit from the Holy Land and as a parting gift received an M16 rifle.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ton-within-months-minister-says-idUSKBN29W0XO
 
Was speaking to a friend about Muslim holy sites in Israel.

Those from the UAE and Bahrain now have more rights when it comes to visiting and praying at Al-Aqsa than most Palestinians do. It’s no wonder therefore that the latter feel betrayed by these Gulf states.
 
Over 130,000 Israelis have visited the UAE since ties established last October

We may be witnessing a major realignment of the Middle East

I was Googling around the other day for a factoid: how many Israelis had visited the United Arab Emirates since the signing of their normalisation agreement, known as the Abraham Accords. Answer: more than 130,000.

Jumping Jehoshaphat, Batman! In the middle of a global pandemic, at least 130,000 Israeli tourists and investors have flown to Dubai and Abu Dhabi since commercial air travel was established in mid-October!

I believed from the start that the openings between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan — forged by Jared Kushner and Donald Trump — could be game-changing. We are still in the early phase, though, and having lived through the shotgun marriage and divorce of Israelis and Lebanese Christians in the 1980s, I will wait a bit before sending wedding gifts.

That caveat aside, something big seems to be stirring. Unlike the peace breakthroughs between Israel and Egypt, Israel and Lebanon’s Christians and Israel and Jordan, which were driven from the top and largely confined there, the openings between Israel and the Gulf States — while initiated from the top to build an alliance against Iran — are now being driven even more from the bottom, by tourists, students and businesses.

A new Hebrew language school that holds classes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi has been swamped with Emiratis wanting to study in Israel or do business there. Israel’s Mekorot National Water Co. just finalised a deal to provide Bahrain with desalination technology for brackish water. The Times of Israel recently ran an article about Elli Kriel in Dubai, who “has become the go-to kosher chef in the UAE … Last year, Kriel launched Kosherati, which sells kosher-certified Emirati cuisine, as well as fusion Jewish-Emirati dishes.” And, by the way, those 130,000 Israeli visitors helped to save the UAE’s tourist industry from being crushed by the pandemic during the crucial holiday season.

If the Abraham Accords do thrive and broaden to include normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia, we are talking about one of the most significant realignments in modern Middle East history, which for many decades was largely shaped by Great Power interventions and Arab-Israeli dynamics. Not anymore.

Today, “there are three powerful non-Arab actors in the region — Iran, Turkey and Israel — and they have each constructed their own regional axis,” argues Itamar Rabinovich, the Israeli Middle East historian, who just co-wrote “Syrian Requiem,” a smart history of the Syrian civil war. Those three axes, Rabinovich explains, are Turkey with Qatar and their proxy Hamas; Iran with Syria and Iran’s proxies running Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen; and Israel with the UAE, Bahrain and tacitly Saudi Arabia and Oman.

It’s the interactions of these three axes, says Rabinovich, that are really driving Middle East politics today. And because the UAE-Israel axis brings together the most successful Arab state with the most successful non-Arab state, it’s radiating a lot of energy.

With Israel and the UAE, “what you are seeing are two ecosystems fusing together,” says Gidi Grinstein, head of Reut, the Israeli strategy institute. Israel is a society that for many years faced hostility from its neighbours and had no oil. “So, over the years, Israel learned to go from isolation and scarcity to abundance and global influence by developing its own explosive innovation economy in areas such as water, solar, cyber, military, medical, finance and agriculture.”

The UAE, by contrast, is transitioning from decades of oil abundance to an era of oil scarcity by building its own ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in the same fields as Israel.

The UAE’s population consists of 1 million citizens and 9 million foreigners, most of them low-wage, nonunionised labourers from India and other parts of South Asia and the rest professionals largely from America, Europe, India and the Arab world. The UAE’s growth strategy for the 21st century — of which the opening to Israel is a key part — is to become THE Arab model for modernity, a diversified economy, globalisation and intra-religious tolerance.

To that end, in November the country announced a major liberalisation of its Islamic personal laws — allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, which, among other things, makes the UAE more accepting of gay and lesbian people; criminalising so-called honour killings of women who “shame” their male relatives — as well as made divorce laws much more equitable for women and loosened restrictions on alcohol.

The UAE is still an absolute monarchy, and a multiparty democracy is not on the menu. But greater gender equality, a more open education system and religious pluralism are. It still has work to do in all those areas, though — witness the embarrassing saga around the leader of Dubai, whose daughter is reportedly being held hostage in her father’s palace. But the UAE’s new social laws constitute a big leap forward in its quest to attract the talent needed for a non-oil economy.

All the neighbours are watching, and they are particularly watching how Iran and Saudi Arabia react.

If you are a Lebanese Shiite living in the poor southern suburbs of Beirut having to scramble every day to barter eggs for meat — as the economy teeters on collapse — you’re asking, Why are we stuck with Iran and its axis of failing proxies like Hezbollah, which just keep letting the past bury our future?

That is a dangerous question for Iran and Hezbollah. And more Lebanese are asking every day. Which may explain why outspoken Lebanese anti-Hezbollah journalist and publisher Lokman Slim was shot in the head in southern Lebanon a few weeks ago. All fingers point at Hezbollah as the culprit.

As for Saudi Arabia, it is already letting Israel’s national airline, El Al, fly across Saudi airspace to the UAE. But will it follow suit and formally normalise with Israel? That would be huge for both Israeli-Arab and Jewish-Muslim relations.

That call will largely be made by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. MBS is the most politically repressive, militarily aggressive and, yet, socially and religiously progressive leader that Saudi Arabia has ever had. His CIA-reported decision to have Saudi democracy advocate Jamal Khashoggi, who was a longtime US resident, killed and dismembered was utterly demented — an incomprehensible response to a peaceful critic who posed no threat to the kingdom.

The Biden team is still sorting out how it will relate to MBS, but it is right to insist that America will continue to deal with Saudi Arabia in general as an ally. Getting the Saudis to join the Abraham Accords is the best way to ensure their success. Because, if done right, their participation could create new energy for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution, which, in turn, could make it easier for Jordan and Egypt to fully normalise relations with Israel as well.

Then you really do have a new Middle East.

Biden needs to move fast, though. Among the Israeli groups aggressively reaching out to the Gulf Arabs to come visit are right-wing Jewish settlers. They want to prove that Israel can expand settlements, control the Palestinians and have great relations with Arab states — all at once. It is called “Abraham Accords washing,” using the new ties with Arabs to mask Israel’s West Bank occupation.

The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia need to understand that they have more leverage now to influence Israeli-Palestinian relations than they realise. Israel does not want to lose them. Imagine if Saudi Arabia agreed to join the Abraham Accords but only on the condition that it could open the Saudi Embassy to Israel in Israeli West Jerusalem while, at the same time, opening an embassy to the Palestinians in an Arab neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

Just that one move would help preserve the possibility of a two-state deal, would revitalise the 2002 Saudi peace initiative and would further isolate Iran’s axis of failure. And Israel would find it very hard to reject.

I respect the worry some have that Saudi Arabia’s making peace with Israel could be a vehicle for rehabilitating MBS. They might be right. But I don’t believe that is a reason to oppose it. In the Middle East, big change often happens when the big players do the right things for the wrong reasons.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/opinion/israel-united-arab-emirates-mideast.html
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Was in Dubai over Christmas. Packed with Israelis.
 
A normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel would benefit the region, the kingdom’s foreign minister has said, adding that a potential deal “depends to a large extent on the progress of the peace process”.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, during an interview on Thursday, added that “the normalisation of Israel’s status within the region would bring tremendous benefits to the region as a whole”.

“It would be extremely helpful economically, socially and from a security perspective,” he said in the interview with CNN, adding that it would be possible only if a Palestinian state within 1967 borders was delivered.

Saudi Arabia has previously made similar comments, saying it would only normalise ties with Israel within a plan that would deliver a sovereign state to Palestinians.

“What we need to make happen is a peace deal that delivers a Palestinian state with dignity and with a workable sovereignty that Palestinians can accept,” Prince Faisal had said in December last year.

He added at the time that the normalisation of ties with Israel has long been part of Saudi Arabia’s vision, saying that the kingdom envisaged a move in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borderlines.

In September last year, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the so-called Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel. Sudan and Morocco have since followed suit.

The deals were the first since Israel’s recognition by Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

Last year’s agreements, brokered by former US President Donald Trump’s administration, included a freeze by Israel on planned annexation of Palestinian land.

Palestinian officials condemned the normalisation as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people”.

A two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict closely reflects the Arab Peace Initiative, which was proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002.

The initiative called for normalised relations between Israel and other Arab states in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel from lands it occupied in the 1967 war, including the occupied regions: Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The initiative was re-endorsed over the years by the Arab League but never implemented, as Israel continued its occupation and settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Al Jazeera
 
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-israel-etihad-airways/abu-dhabis-etihad-starts-direct-passenger-flights-to-israel-idUSKBN2BT1OU?il=0

Abu Dhabi state carrier Etihad Airways began direct commercial passenger flights from the United Arab Emirates capital to Tel Aviv in Israel - the latest direct air link between the two countries that established diplomatic relations last year.

UAE Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja and Israel’s head of mission to the UAE Eitan Na’eh were on the inaugural flight.

“As our countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have much to look forward to in commercial, diplomatic, technological, health, and tourism exchanges,” Khaja was quoted as saying by UAE state news agency WAM.

WAM said on Tuesday it had launched a news service in Hebrew, becoming the first Arab news agency to do so, with its reports focusing in part on bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel.

Etihad said it would initially offer two weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, which has placed Israel on its green list of countries, meaning visitors do not need to quarantine due to the coronavirus.

Other UAE and Israeli airlines have launched direct flights.

The Gulf Arab state has become a popular destinations for Israeli tourists even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt travel globally.

The UAE and Israel are among the countries with the world’s fastest COVID-19 vaccination programmes.

The UAE and fellow Gulf state Bahrain normalised ties with Israel last September as part of a U.S.-brokered agreement.
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People in UAE send video messages of their best wishes for Israel on their independence day
 
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-airlines-etihad-flydubai-cancel-tel-aviv-flights-2021-05-15/

United Arab Emirates carriers Etihad Airways and flydubai have cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, joining American and European airlines in avoiding Israel due to escalating hostilities there.

Airlines in the UAE, which established diplomatic relations with Israel last year, have only in the past few months launched regular services to Israel.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad has suspended all passenger and cargo services to Tel Aviv from Sunday, it said on its website, citing the conflict.

“Etihad is monitoring the situation in Israel and continues to maintain close contact with authorities and security intelligence providers,” it said.

Flydubai has also cancelled flights from Dubai on Sunday, its website shows, though two flights operated on Saturday. Other flights are scheduled for next week, according to its website.

The airline has recently operated fewer than its scheduled four daily flights, citing a drop in demand.

Armed Palestinian groups have repeatedly shelled the Tel Aviv area during hostilities that erupted on Monday, leading to several airlines cancelling flights this week.
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https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/can-israel-blast-gaza-still-make-friends-gulf-2021-05-17/

Scenes of devastation in Gaza are likely to make it harder for Israel to win its biggest diplomatic prize: recognition by Saudi Arabia. But so far, the other rich Gulf states that invested in opening ties with Israel last year are showing no public sign of second thoughts.

Arab officials have come together to condemn what they describe as flagrant Israeli violations during the past two weeks, from Israeli police action around Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque to deadly air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

But in the United Arab Emirates, which along with Bahrain recognised Israel last year under the U.S.-backed "Abraham Accords", official criticism of Israel now often comes balanced with popular expression of hard words for the other side.

In some cases in the UAE, which has long denounced Islamist political movements, condemnation of the Hamas militants who control Gaza even echoes Israeli talking points.

"Hamas launches rockets from within civilian neighbourhoods and when the response comes Hamas cries 'where are the Arabs and Muslims'? You have made Gaza a graveyard for the innocent and children," Waseem Yousef, a Muslim preacher in the UAE, tweeted to his 1.6 million followers on Twitter.

In a country where social media is closely monitored by the authorities, another Emirati, Munther al-Shehhi, tweeted: "I will not stand by or empathise with any terrorist group such as Hamas in support of any cause, even if it is packaged as humanitarian or religious. #No To Terrorism."

A social media hashtag has even begun circulating among some Gulf Arabs, which reads "#Palestine Is Not My Cause".

So far, such sentiment does not seem to have made inroads too deeply into Saudi Arabia. The biggest, richest and most powerful of the Gulf monarchies is widely presumed to have given its tacit blessing to last year's decision by neighbours Bahrain and the UAE to embrace Israeli ties. But it held back from recognising Israel itself, and now appears far less likely to do so, at least in the medium term.

Many Saudis have responded to the "Not My Cause" hashtag by posting pictures of King Salman, with his quote: "The Palestinian cause is our first cause".

On May 13, Saudi television aired footage of a cleric in Mecca praying for Palestinian victory against "the enemy of God", less than year after the kingdom's leading imam discouraged rhetoric against Jews following the September accords.

It would now be "inconceivable" that the Saudi leadership could contemplate normalising ties with Israel for at least a couple of years, said Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at Britain's Chatham House think tank.

Last year's decisions by the UAE and Bahrain, followed by Sudan and Morocco, to recognise Israel were denounced by the Palestinians as abandoning a unified position under which Arab states would make peace only if Israel gave up occupied land.

The UAE and Bahrain argued that their agreements would ultimately benefit the Palestinians, including because Israel had promised to abandon plans to annex West Bank territory.

Abdulrahman al-Towajry, 29, a Saudi national visiting a Riyadh shopping mall, said the countries that had made peace should "really reconsider it" as Israel could not be "trusted to abide by promises".

"There is strength in unity so if Arab and Muslim countries unite, the conflict would end. It could have ended a long time ago if they had," he told Reuters.

But the Emiratis and others probably have too much invested in the policy to change course abruptly now.

The agreements have propelled tourism, investment and cooperation in fields from energy to technology. A UAE investment fund has plans to purchase a stake in an Israeli gas field and Dubai's port operator is bidding for Haifa Port.

"The Abraham Accords are an irreversible process," said prominent Emirati commentator Abdulkhaleq Abdulla. "It was very clear that it was in keeping with the UAE's national priorities and strategic interests so there is no going back."
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Bangladesh has reportedly lifted its travel ban to Israel in an unexpected move welcomed by the Foreign Ministry's Deputy Director General for Asia and the Pacific Gilad Cohen on Saturday.

Passports for Bangladeshi citizens, up until now, have had a caveat written on the document stating that the document was valid in "all countries of the world, except Israel."
 
MenInG said:
Bangladesh has reportedly lifted its travel ban to Israel in an unexpected move welcomed by the Foreign Ministry's Deputy Director General for Asia and the Pacific Gilad Cohen on Saturday.

Passports for Bangladeshi citizens, up until now, have had a caveat written on the document stating that the document was valid in "all countries of the world, except Israel."
Click to expand...

Very strange if true. I mean prior to this 11 days of war it might have not caught that much attention, but right after what Israel have done to innocent people of Palestine, this is a very odd decision. (Unless there is something more behind this)
 
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Excellent decision by Bangladesh.

I am hopeful that one day Pakistan will see the light as well.

A day will come when our masses are finally educated and smart, and we overcome our delusional mentality and identity-crisis.

In fact, the day Pakistan becomes recognized as an educated/literate nation would be the day we will recognize Israel.
 
As a Bangladeshi, I condemn this decision. I hope they will reverse it.

Normalizing relation with Israel should be out of equation.
 
Ambassador praises Israel in meeting with Shas Party Chief

1) For those who are unaware, Shas party is very racist.....

2) The Ambassador blames Israel's negative reputation on the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Jazeera....... (no comments)
 
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https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-open-economic-office-abu-dhabi-boost-gulf-investment-2021-06-01/

Israel plans to open an economic attache office in Abu Dhabi this summer to attract foreign investment and boost economic relations with Gulf states and the broader Arab world, the Economy Ministry said on Tuesday.

This follows a U.S.-brokered normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last September that has led to a number of bilateral banking deals and direct flights between the two countries.

On Monday, an Emirati embassy opened in Tel Aviv while Israel's Finance Ministry said Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a tax treaty to spur business development between the countries. Economy Minister Amir Peretz said he saw "enormous economic potential" in strengthening Israeli-Emirati relations.

"Opening the economic attache office will give a significant boost to the various initiatives already underway," Peretz added.

Israel's Foreign Trade Administration (FTA), a part of the Economy Ministry, operates in more than 50 business centers around the world. It opened a branch in Manila last year.

Aviad Tamir will be the economic attache in the UAE, the ministry said.

The FTA last year identified significant economic potential for Israel's economy from relations with the UAE, including strengthening aviation ties between Israel and the Gulf, oil imports, energy solutions, diamond exports, exports of medical equipment water technologies, and exports of financial and cyber security technologies.

The new branches in the UAE "will yield significant returns in light of the great interest arising from Emirates interested in a long line of Israeli technologies as well as in light of the large capital in the UAE that may be translated into significant investments in Israeli economy and industry," said FTA director Ohad Cohen.

Israel has also recently normalised relations with Bahrain.
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https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-foreign-minister-heads-uae-first-official-visit-2021-06-29/

Israel's new foreign minister inaugurated its embassy in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and offered an olive branch to other former adversaries, saying: "We're here to stay."

Yair Lapid's two-day visit is the first to the Gulf state by an Israeli cabinet minister since the countries established ties last year. He was due to sign a bilateral agreement on economic cooperation and open an Israeli consulate in Dubai on Wednesday.

The trip is also an opportunity for the two-week-old Israeli government of Naftali Bennett, a nationalist who heads an improbable cross-partisan coalition, to make diplomatic inroads despite long-stymied talks with the Palestinians.

"Israel wants peace with its neighbours - with all its neighbours. We aren't going anywhere. The Middle East is our home," Lapid said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Abu Dhabi high-rise office serving as a temporary embassy.

"We're here to stay. We call on all the countries of the region to recognise that and to come to talk to us," he said.

Brought together by shared worries about Iran and hopes for commercial boons, the UAE and Bahrain normalised relations with Israel last year under so-called "Abraham Accords" crafted by the administration of then U.S.-President Donald Trump. Sudan and Morocco have since also moved to establish ties with Israel.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, welcoming Lapid's visit, said Washington "will continue to work with Israel and the UAE as we strengthen all aspects of our partnerships and work to create a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous future for all the peoples of the Middle East", the State Department said.

The regional rapprochement was deplored by the Palestinians, who want their demands for statehood free of Israeli occupation addressed first.

President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the accords as "an illusion" and asserted that colonial powers had "implant(ed) Israel as a foreign body in this region in order to fragment it and keep it weak," according to a report on Tuesday by the official Palestinian news service WAFA.

Tuesday's agreement will be the 12th between Israel and the UAE, Lior Haiat, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said. Lapid is also set to visit the site of Expo 2020 Dubai, a world fair opening in October where Israel has built a pavilion.

Lapid's plane transited through Saudi airspace. Riyadh, although not having normalised relations with Israel, last year opened its skies to Israel-UAE flights.

The UAE formally opened its embassy in Israel, temporarily located in the Tel Aviv stock exchange, this month.

Israel's Abu Dhabi embassy still has only three diplomats and a head of mission, Eitan Na'eh, who has yet to be confirmed as full ambassador. The consulate in Dubai is similarly located in temporary premises.

Lapid was conciliatory toward former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose attempts to organise a trip to the UAE while in office were scotched by COVID-19 restrictions and who has sought to cast his ouster by Bennett as illegitimate.

Thanking Netanyahu as "the architect of the Abraham Accords", Lapid said: "This moment is his, no less than it is ours."
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Lapid opens first Israeli embassy in Gulf during 'historic' official visit to UAE

Israel's top diplomat Yair Lapid opened the Jewish state's first embassy in the Gulf during a trip to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday after ties were normalised ties last year.

"The opening of the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi with the Emirati Minister of Culture and Youth," he tweeted with a photo of himself and UAE minister Noura al-Kaabi cutting a ribbon in the blue and white of the Israeli flag.

Israeli ministers have previously visited the UAE, but newly appointed Lapid is the most senior Israeli to make the trip, and the first to travel on an official mission.

"Israel wants peace with its neighbours. With all its neighbours. We aren't going anywhere. The Middle East is our home. We're here to stay. We call on all the countries of the region to recognise that. And to come talk to us," Lapid said during the opening ceremony.

Since their US-brokered normalisation agreement was announced in August last year, Israel and the UAE have signed a raft of deals ranging from tourism to aviation and financial services.

During his visit, Lapid will also inaugurate a consulate in Dubai.

Lapid's trip comes nearly a year after the nations moved to normalise ties, and follows a string of visits by Israeli officials that were planned then scrapped over issues including the Covid pandemic and diplomatic scuffles.

In March, a planned official visit by Israel's then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cancelled due to a "dispute" with Jordan over the use of its airspace, according to Israeli officials.

Netanyahu, replaced as prime minister by Jewish nationalist Naftali Bennett in a coalition government cobbled together by Lapid weeks ago, had already postponed a February visit to the UAE and Bahrain over coronavirus travel restrictions.

'Shalom'

According to the Jerusalem Post daily, Netanyahu sought to prevent his foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi from making an official visit to the UAE, to keep him from stealing the spotlight ahead of March elections.

Then-tourism minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen, now science and technology minister, reportedly also had to cancel trips.

In August 2020, former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat made history by flying to Abu Dhabi on an El Al plane from Israel.

That was feted by both sides as a breakthrough in efforts for peace in the Middle East, marked by the El Al jet touching down adorned with the word "peace" in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

The normalisation accords Israel struck with the UAE, followed by deals with Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan also last year, have been condemned by the Palestinians.

They break with years of Arab League policy of no relations with Israel until it makes peace with the Palestinians.

In October 2018, Netanyahu and his wife Sara visited the UAE's Gulf neighbour Oman amid Palestinian fears of a normalisation of ties between Oman and Israel.

Lapid is a centrist former television presenter who tenaciously hammered together Israel's new coalition, ending Netanyahu's more than decade-long tenure as prime minister.

He has sought to break from his rival's policies, saying Monday that Netanyahu's government had taken "a terrible gamble" by focussing only on ties with the Republican party in Washington.

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20210629-israel-s-lapid-begins-historic-official-visit-to-united-arab-emirates
 
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dubai-expo-focus-uae-racks-up-700-mln-trade-with-israel-since-normalisation-2021-08-13/

Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations a year ago, are looking to Dubai's Expo world fair in October to boost bilateral trade, which now stands at around $712 million.

While the figure, contained in Israeli data, is tiny compared to UAE exports of $24 billion in 2019 to its top destination Saudi Arabia, the Israeli government sees trade with the UAE rising to $1 billion by year-end.

Israel is aiming for $3 billion in three years, it said this week on its Arabic-language Twitter account.

The UAE, which in a seismic move last August became the first Gulf state to normalise ties with Israel, promoted the accord's economic benefits.

In September, the UAE and Bahrain both inked U.S.-brokered deals to establish ties with Israel, followed by Sudan and Morocco.

The bulk of trade between the UAE and Israel, which have similar GDPs of around $400 billion, has involved imports from the Gulf's dominant logistics and re-export hub, including plastics, electronics, auto parts and gems.

Israel recorded $457 million of imports from the UAE between January 2020 and June this year, and $255 million in exports to the UAE, its Central Bureau of Statistics said.

Dubai, which contains the region's largest transhipment port at Jebel Ali, said in January that bilateral trade since September 2020 stood at $272 million.

Zeev Lavie of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC) said normalisation had expanded Israeli trade within the wider Middle East via the UAE. "We're becoming much more regional," he said.

Israel has traditionally exported to Arab countries via other states, or through complex structures outside the region.

Lavie said the UAE pact was encouraging trade with Egypt and Jordan, with which Israel has had peace deals for decades.

"A lot of the business community in those countries have seen that, no, it's okay to do business in Israel ... We've seen much more interest from business people," he said.

The outgoing head of mission at the Israeli embassy in the UAE, Eitan Na'eh, said quite a few agreements were to be signed in coming months, with a series of ministers visiting Dubai Expo 2020, the world fair opening in October after a one-year pandemic delay.

"We need to really get down to work on institutional relationships between our financial institutions, the banks, the funds, the big business," Na'eh told Reuters.

Abdulla Baqer of the UAE-Israel Business Council expects major deals on logistics, medicine and start-up incubation this year.

Israel has said it plans to open an economic attache office in Abu Dhabi this summer, and the UAE and Israel have been discussing a Free Trade Agreement.

To date, 10 government-to-government agreements have been signed between the two countries including double taxation, visas, financial services and money laundering agreements.

Publicly announced deals include around 40 memorandums of understanding and around 30 other types of strategic, cooperation or distribution agreements related to the financial, energy, sports, agriculture, aviation, aerospace and media sectors as well as investment promotion and COVID-19 technology.

But a $3 billion fund announced by the U.S., Israel and the UAE to encourage private-sector investment and regional cooperation has gone quiet, as has a $10 billion fund of UAE private and state money announced in March to invest in Israeli strategic sectors.

"It takes some time for trade links to be established and the pandemic almost certainly complicated this," Jan Friederich, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings said.
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UAE looks to grow Israel economic ties to $1 trillion over decade

UAE looks to grow Israel economic ties to $1 trillion over decade

The United Arab Emirates is seeking to grow economic ties with Israel to more than $1 trillion over the next decade, Economy Minister Abdulla Bin Touq said Monday, strengthening a year-old relationship that’s already produced billions of dollars worth of business.

The Gulf country has signed over 60 memorandums of understanding with Israel since normalizing relations in 2020 and is expecting an “influx” of trade in the next two years, Bin Touq told a virtual conference from the U.S., where he is leading a high-level business delegation. The UAE was looking at sectors including defense, energy and food security.

“We have $600 to $700 million dollars of bilateral trade happening, we have funds of billions of dollars that have been announced jointly between the two countries, we are moving into so many areas of economic opportunities,” he said. “We are looking to create over $1 trillion dollars of economic activity over the next decade.”

Those deals include Mubadala Investment Co.’s $1 billion purchase of Tel Aviv-listed Delek’s stake in an Israeli gas field, which was concluded this month.

The so-called Abraham Accords were an historic breakthrough, hailed by leaders including then-U.S. President Donald Trump as a step toward forging peace in the Middle East. The UAE was the first Arab nation after Egypt and Jordan to formally recognize Israel.

The Israeli government said at the time that the deal would lead to billions of dollars of investment. Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan have also recognized Israel following intense diplomacy from the U.S.

That outreach has been labeled a betrayal by Palestinians and caused some embarrassment during this year’s 11-day war in Gaza but did not derail efforts to build diplomatic and economic relations.

The UAE announced earlier this month plans to deepen its trade ties in fast-growing economies in Asia and Africa, and draw $150 billion in foreign investment as it faces growing competition from regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2...el-economies-ties-by-1-trillion-over-10-years
 
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MANAMA: A Gulf Air plane began the first commercial flight between Bahrain and Israel on Thursday, a year after the normalisation of diplomatic relations.

The Airbus A320 bound for Tel Aviv took off from Manama airport just over an hour after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived for Israel's first bilateral ministerial visit to Bahrain.
 
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