Israel-UAE deal: A big win for Trump
The Trump administration just brokered a “historic peace deal” in the Middle East, said Alex Ward in Vox. com. In return for Israel suspending its planned annexation of vast swaths of the West Bank, the United Arab Emirates will become only the third Arab nation to recognize the Jewish state—and the first since Jordan in 1994. Trump called it a “huge breakthrough” after his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner spearheaded six weeks of negotiations. Both countries have now promised to work on establishing embassies and direct flights. Most importantly, halting the West Bank annexation revives the possibility of a “two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians, which had been all but dead. It’s a big win for Trump, said Daniel DePetris in WashingtonExaminer.com.
The president becomes the first since Bill Clinton to sign a Middle East peace deal and gets a “big, bold achievement” to tout during the campaign. Still, there are “lingering questions”: How long will Netanyahu’s suspension last? After the deal, he insisted the annexation “remains on the table.”
Let’s not overhype this “statement of intent,” which is not truly a deal, said David Halbfinger in The New York Times. Netanyahu’s annexation plans had long ago stalled in the face of fierce European and Arab opposition; the UAE’s offer gave him an excuse to abandon an untenable position. Moreover, Israel and the UAE have enjoyed an unofficial, “robust diplomatic relationship” for years that is “one of the Middle East’s worst-kept secrets.” This tentative agreement allows the leaders of all three countries to “change the subject” from their own domestic problems and play peacemaker.
Iran, ironically, helped push Israel and the UAE together, said Peter Baker, also in the Times. In recent years, the aggressive acts and clear intent of Shiite rulers in Tehran to dominate the region have led Sunni Arab Gulf states like the UAE to see Iran as “a greater enemy than Israel.” Kushner’s personal friendships with foreign leaders have finally paid off, said Graeme Wood in TheAtlantic.com. His family is tight with Netanyahu, and Kushner has maintained cozy What’s App relationships with the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It’s very unconventional diplomacy, but this may be “what peace looks like, at the beginning anyway.”