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TEL AVIV: The city hall in this coastal city is lit up in the colors of the national flag on August 13, 2020. — AFP UAE defends deal with Israel Move to establish ties ‘shake-up’ of tired diplomacy : The UAE on Friday offered a muscular remained conspicuously silent. lucrative and contribute to our GDP,” Ghobash said, the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements across the defense of its bombshell move to establish ties with “We didn’t consult with anybody, we didn’t in an unusually candid assessment. “We are driven occupied West Bank. “The primary gain is to take Israel, saying it was designed to “shake up” the inform anybody, and as a sovereign state we don’t by pragmatic considerations.” The UAE, which has annexation out of the equation for the time being,” impasse and serve Emirati interests. feel that we have the obligation to do that,” sent a probe to Mars and pressed the button on a Ghobash said. The historic deal, the first for a Gulf state, sees Ghobash said, asked if long-time ally Riyadh was nuclear power program in the past month, is grow- The minister rejected criticism from the Israel pledge to suspend its planned annexation of consulted in advance. “We are in the process now of ing in prominence on the world stage. Palestinians, saying there was “no other plan on the Palestinian lands but has been condemned by the informing our friends and partners and others in the Ghobash, a former ambassador to and table from our Arab side to suggest that some solu- Palestinian leadership as a “betrayal” of their cause. region as to why we took the step” but “it’s to be , said the Israel deal demonstrated its diplo- tion might be forthcoming”. “I am trying to under- Omar Saif Ghobash, assistant Minister for expected that not everybody will ... applaud or matic independence. “We are not a gift to be stand in what sense this is a back stab given that Culture and Public Diplomacy, rejected the charge, comment”. “We have taken the decision as a sover- awarded to the Israelis at some stage if they satis- what we have done is actually open the door for a insisting the agreement had made progress in the eign state with our own interests and our own cal- fy Palestinian demands,” he said. “We are very rethink on the Israeli side about annexation,” he said. absence of any other workable proposal from the culations in mind.” clearly stating that it is in our sovereign interest to “We strongly believe in the rights of the Palestinians’ . “I think we’ve demonstrated that we are make this move and therefore that sovereign inter- cause and the rights of the Palestinians,” said able to enter a very staid and tired situation and to ‘We are not a gift’ est will be served,” he said. “We have spent the Ghobash. “So we have taken the step in accordance shake things up, and we look forward to seeing The establishment of ties with Israel comes after last 20 years developing relationships with all with these deeply held beliefs but also in accordance positive developments coming out of this real years of quiet rapprochement, including the hosting kinds of countries across the globe. We have an with the new reading of the region.” engagement,” he told AFP in an interview. of athletes and ministers from the Jewish state. active foreign policy and we will make our own In 2002, Saudi Arabia sponsored the Arab Peace The deal, announced by US President Donald Apart from the diplomatic implications, there are sovereign decisions.” Initiative which called for Israel’s complete with- Trump on Thursday, is only the third such accord obvious economic benefits. The UAE, rich in oil and drawal from occupied territories in exchange for Israel has struck with an Arab country, and raises with big ambitions in space and technology, will be No back-stabbers peace and full normalization of relations. “We are the prospect of similar deals with other pro- able to do business openly with Israel, which will Oman and Bahrain have welcomed the now in 2020, so 18 years have passed and we Western Gulf states. But regional power Saudi have access to the modern cities of Dubai and Abu announcement as advancing the prospects for haven’t seen any outcome from the Arab Peace Arabia, whose own efforts to induce Israel to with- Dhabi as they attract talent and investment. peace in the Middle East. But Prime Minister Initiative. “We believe that the way in which we draw from occupied territories have been effective- “We as a country are very globally connected Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the deal did not mean should approach these questions is by dialogue and ly sidelined by the United Arab Emirates move, has and we do find that the connections are incredibly Israel was abandoning its plans to one day annex communication,” Ghobash said. — AFP

‘A little annoyed’ Israel-UAE deal a After UAE-Israel In 2002 Saudi Arabia sponsored the Arab Peace Initiative which called for Israel’s complete withdrawal from Trump coup, but deal, all eyes on the Palestinian territories occupied after the Six-Day War of 1967, in sights are on Iran Saudi Arabia exchange for peace and the full nor- malization of relations. But the king- dom, the Arab world’s biggest econo- WASHINGTON: The Israel-UAE agree- DUBAI: The historic UAE-Israel my and custodian of Islam’s holiest ment gives the United States a rare diplo- diplomatic deal may prompt other sites, has also cultivated ties with matic success in the Middle East - but it is Arab nations to follow suit, but Israel in recent years, in a shift spear- Iran which President Donald Trump has in heavyweight Saudi Arabia will be headed by de facto leader Crown his sights, with a strategy that has already cautious, with more complex political Prince Mohammed bin Salman. hit roadblocks at the United Nations. The calculations to make, analysts say. The In 2018 Riyadh quietly opened its White House has lavished praise on a for- United Arab Emirates is the first Gulf airspace for the first time for an eign policy coup which was sorely needed state to normalize relations with Israel-bound passenger plane. And it by a president seeking re-election in Israel, after years of quiet rapproche- has pursued a bold outreach to November who has little to show on the ment including the hosting of athletes Jewish figures in recent years, even as diplomatic front. and ministers from the Jewish state. it appears wary of a public backlash. “This is a dramatic breakthrough that will WASHINGTON: (from left, rear) Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, US Secretary of the Treasury But the diplomatic flirtation has also However it is unlikely it will take the make the Middle East safer,” chief US nego- Steven Mnuchin and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien clap for US President Donald reached Oman, which was visited by monumental step of establishing offi- tiator Jared Kushner told CBS. “It means Trump after he announced an agreement between UAE and Israel to normalization diplo- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin cial relations “at least not right away”, less American troops will have to be over matic ties at the White House on Thursday. — AFP Netanyahu in 2018 and Bahrain, which said Hussein Ibish, an analyst at the there.” Under the US-brokered agreement, received Israeli journalists last year. Arab Gulf States Institute in the United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed a contiguous border with Israel.” Barbara What’s more, he added, “the administration’s Both countries have welcomed Washington. “My guess is that King on Thursday to establish full diplomatic ties, Slavin of the Atlantic Council, another motivation has nothing to do with Israeli- Thursday’s bombshell announcement Salman will be at least a little making the monarchy just the third Arab Washington think-tank, described the Palestinian peace.” “It’s about domestic pol- as advancing the prospects for peace annoyed, since this breaks the Arab country to recognize the Jewish state, fol- agreement as a “good move” but “not earth- icy,” Miller said. “This is about making the in the Middle East, while Riyadh has consensus that the Arab Peace lowing Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. shaking in view of the covert ties the two president look good, demonstrating some been conspicuously silent. Yoel Initiative is the guiding basis for all “Assuming the deal works, it’s the first countries have had for a very long time.” measure of competency and fulfilling at Guzansky, a Gulf politics specialist at major diplomacy with Israel.” time Israel has established normalized rela- least some degree of what the administra- the Institute for National Security The specter of Iran plays a funda- tions with any Gulf nation and for that rea- ‘Vision for Peace’ tion claimed it would do from the beginning Studies at Tel Aviv University, said he mental role in the rapprochement son it’s significant,” said Aaron David Miller, Since taking office, Trump has pledged to - which is to make peace between Israel expected Bahrain to be among the between Israel and the Gulf states, all a former diplomat who served as Israeli- apply his self-proclaimed deal-making skills and the Arab world.” Above all, Miller said, first to adopt the UAE’s position, staunch allies of the United States in Palestinian peace negotiator in Democratic to resolving the intractable Israeli- “it helps give rise to the image that there is possibly along with some North its confrontation with the Islamic and Republican administrations. But, Miller Palestinian conflict. He charged Kushner, his an anti-Iran coalition.” “But I’m not sure African nations. republic. But there are difference in cautioned, “don’t blow this out of propor- son-in-law, with the daunting task of ham- that’s going to get very far,” he continued, “I don’t see Saudi Arabia jumping the perception of threat among Gulf tion. “I don’t buy that it’s on the same level mering out Middle East peace. But the unless Trump can get other Arab countries immediately. I think it will wait and states. Iran’s opponents accuse it of of magnitude or accomplishment as Egypt Palestinians have refused to play along with such as Morocco, Bahrain and Oman to see the reactions in the Gulf, the interfering in other nations’ affairs by or Jordan,” said Miller, now a senior fellow an administration seen as staunchly pro- sign on. Trump has made it clear that his Arab world... and then they will supporting, financing and mobilizing at the Carnegie Endowment for Israel, and rejected the US president’s main objective in the Middle East is neu- decide how and when, and in what armed groups and parties across the International Peace. “Vision for Peace” unveiled in January. tralizing Iran. He has called on several occa- scope,” said the former adviser to region. Nevertheless, Kuwait, Qatar and “This is the UAE we’re talking about. This Miller said the Israel-UAE normalization sions for the creation of a NATO of Middle several Israeli prime ministers. “I Oman have relations with Iran, while is not the Arab world’s most powerful nation agreement does little to advance Trump’s East nations, an alliance which has failed to don’t think that they will go full hardliners Saudi Arabia and Bahrain like Egypt. This isn’t even a country that has “vision” of overall Middle East peace. come together. — AFP ahead like the Emirates.” maintain a total boycott. — AFP