Abraham Accord: UAE and Bahrain to deal with Israel

US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign ministers of Bahrain and UAE signed the first ever peace agreement in 26 years. The deal is names as the Abraham Accord. The parties have agreed to establish a diplomatic tie in order to stop the annexation of occupied land by the Palestine for their future state.

Key Facts

• It took an Arab country three decades to recognise Israel. Egypt had signed the first ever peace treaty with Israel.
• Jordan is the second Arab country to establish peace with Israel. Jordan took 15 more years to establish the peace.
• 26 years after the Jordan, UAE signed peace deal with Israel.
• Now, Israel and Bahrain have signed the peace deal. making Bahrain the fourth country to do so.

Arab Peace Initiative

Under the Trump administration, there is a scope of transformation regarding the oldest conflict in modern west Asia as Arab countries are coming forth to have peace deal with Israel.  The administration speculates that, more countries including Morocco, Sudan and Oman might come in line with UAE and Bahrain on peace deal in future.

Palestine’s Stand

The agreement between Bahrain and Israel makes no mention of Palestinian land. The UAE and Bahrain have supported the Arab Peace Initiative since 2002 that officially mentioned the question of Palestinian land. But the recent agreements made by Bahrain and the UAE have broken the consensus. So, the Palestinian leadership is considering this step to blow off the Arab Peace Initiative which is against the Palestinian people.  The Palestinians have called for an Arab League session and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to reconsider their agreement.

India’s stand

India had recognized Israel in 1950. Also, India was the first non-Arab country to recognize Palestine Liberation Organization as well which happens to be the only representative of Palestine. India in 2018 had de-hyphenated its relationship with both Israel and Palestine by treating both countries independently. The ritual to visit both Israel and Palestine simultaneously was done away with. This was a major step to treat both the counties exclusively. Later, India voted in favour of decision of Israel in UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) that grant consultative status to the Palestinian NGO.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2020