Trump Negotiates Historic Israel-UAE Peace Deal

 

President Trump achieved a diplomatic milestone Thursday, leading the United Arab Emirates and Israel to establish a full normalization of relations. This is more bad news for the Iranian regime as well as the dead-end supporters of Obama’s nuclear deal.

“The historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region,” according to a joint statement, “and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region.”

To achieve the deal, Israel will suspend annexing parts of the West Bank and will instead focus on improving ties throughout the Middle East.

“This shows us the dramatic change that we made in the status of Israel in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said. “For decades Israel was always symbolized as an enemy…but today many countries see Israel as a strategic ally.”

“Peace between the Arabs and the Israelis is Iran’s worst nightmare,” said Brian Hook, the special envoy for Iran. Hook leads Trump’s full-spectrum pressure campaign against Iran.

The UAE joins Egypt and Jordan as the third Muslim-majority nation to normalize relations with Israel and is the first Gulf Arab state to do so. This will push other regional players such as Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia to consider following their lead.

Bahrain, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, immediately welcomed the accord and praised US leadership in securing it.

While a peace accord should make everyone happy, many Democrats are glum. “We won’t be fooled by another Trump/Netanyahu deal” anti-Israel congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tweeted. “We won’t celebrate Netanyahu for not stealing land he already controls in exchange for a sweetheart business deal. The heart of the issue has never been planned, formal annexation, but ongoing, devastating apartheid.”

Iran deal architect/van driver Ben Rhodes claimed “the agreement enshrines what has been the emerging status quo in the region for a long time (including the total exclusion of Palestinians). Dressed up as an election eve achievement from two leaders who want Trump to win.”

The son of John “Give Peace a Chance” Lennon captured their intransigence well.

.

Published in Foreign Policy
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  1. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    BDS twerps hardest hit.

    • #1
  2. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    This is authentic good news.  Good job.  

    • #2
  3. Dotorimuk Coolidge
    Dotorimuk
    @Dotorimuk

    Can’t wait for the Bulwark and the Lincoln Project to explain why this is a terrible deal.

    • #3
  4. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    It is not enough to succeed. It is also necessary for Ben Rhodes to look more like a total prat.

    • #4
  5. Eustace C. Scrubb Member
    Eustace C. Scrubb
    @EustaceCScrubb

    Just got back from the gym where I noticed that CNN didn’t have time for this story because of the urgent “Trump refuses to deny birther rumors about Harris” story.

    • #5
  6. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    ….as the guns fall silent war weary Dubai can start to rebuild….

    • #6
  7. DrewInWisconsin, Unhelpful Communicator Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Unhelpful Communicator
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    This is authentic good news. Good job.

    “Good job,” who?

    • #7
  8. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    This is authentic good news. Good job.

    Yes. Good Job Trump. 

    Your pick for President never would have done this.

     

    • #8
  9. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    It will be interesting to see if the Saudis jump in on this between now and Nov. 3. They, the Arab Gulf States and Israel are obviously taking proactive measures based on what they think a Biden victory will entail, which is a tilt back toward Iran and trying to get them their nuclear weapons so they can be a ‘counterbalance’ against Israel in the Middle East. It’s a bonus point if the deals here are able to move the needle a little away from a Biden win, and obviously a deal between Israel and the nation running Mecca before Election Day would be an event even CNN, MSNBC and The New York Times likely wouldn’t be able to ignore (even if they and the WaPo framed it as “Palestinians snubbed as Trump brokers deal between Israel and Jamal Khashoggi‘s killers“)

    • #9
  10. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.: “We won’t be fooled by another Trump/Netanyahu deal” anti-Israel congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)

    OK, I don’t know the details, but if Tlaib is against it then it must be pretty good. 

    • #10
  11. MichaelKennedy Inactive
    MichaelKennedy
    @MichaelKennedy

    Jon1979 (View Comment):

    It will be interesting to see if the Saudis jump in on this between now and Nov. 3. They, the Arab Gulf States and Israel are obviously taking proactive measures based on what they think a Biden victory will entail, which is a tilt back toward Iran and trying to get them their nuclear weapons so they can be a ‘counterbalance’ against Israel in the Middle East. It’s a bonus point if the deals here are able to move the needle a little away from a Biden win, and obviously a deal between Israel and the nation running Mecca before Election Day would be an event even CNN, MSNBC and The New York Times likely wouldn’t be able to ignore (even if they and the WaPo framed it as “Palestinians snubbed as Trump brokers deal between Israel and Jamal Khashoggi‘s killers“)

    A sign will be if the Saudis start to back away from the nuclear deal with China.

    • #11
  12. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    Big league accomplishment!

    • #12
  13. ToryWarWriter Coolidge
    ToryWarWriter
    @ToryWarWriter

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    This is authentic good news. Good job.

    Yes. Good Job Trump.

    Your pick for President never would have done this.

     

    Hey Guys.  Lets try to be better than gloaters.  

    • #13
  14. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Percival (View Comment):

    It is not enough to succeed. It is also necessary for Ben Rhodes to look more like a total prat.

    Perci,

    When Hillary started her “it takes a village” theme, I suggested that the US Army should put her in a C-130 and strap a parachute on her and drop her over Taliban territory. She could take notes on the first Taliban village she came to. If she made it back alive she could write a book.

    I think Ben Rhodes requires even stronger medicine. He gets the ride in the C-130 with the parachute but he gets to be dropped over ISIS-controlled territory (odd but after 8 years of Obama there was plenty of ISIS-controlled territory.  After 3 years of Trump, ISIS controlled next to nothing.) If Ben gets back alive he can advise the Trump administration on ISIS decapitation etiquette.

    What a total idiot this useless arrogant little b@astard really is.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #14
  15. Kervinlee Inactive
    Kervinlee
    @Kervinlee

    How about Obama just hands over his Peace Prize to Trump, since the Nobel Committee will ignore this.

    • #15
  16. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    DrewInWisconsin, Unhelpful Com… (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    This is authentic good news. Good job.

    “Good job,” who?

    By the Trump Administration.  They did well here.  

    • #16
  17. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Is Sean Ono an actual real person?

    • #17
  18. namlliT noD Member
    namlliT noD
    @DonTillman

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is Sean Ono an actual real person?

    You’re kidding, right?

    • #18
  19. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Jon1979 (View Comment):

    It will be interesting to see if the Saudis jump in on this between now and Nov. 3. They, the Arab Gulf States and Israel are obviously taking proactive measures based on what they think a Biden victory will entail, which is a tilt back toward Iran and trying to get them their nuclear weapons so they can be a ‘counterbalance’ against Israel in the Middle East.

    I think you have the timing right.

    The UAE has gone in to test the water, but if you look at reporting on this in Saudi or Qatari (Aljazeera) owned media it is pretty neutral to mildly positive.  I suspect that Bahrain and Qatar will come in on this soon, if there is no massive public dummy spit by the populace (which is unlikely?), with Saudi arriving in time for the US election.

    The constraint is: they all remember Sadat, and they all have an indigenous problem with Al-Qaida and ISIS (or equivalents).

    It’s a bonus point if the deals here are able to move the needle a little away from a Biden win, and obviously a deal between Israel and the nation running Mecca before Election Day would be an event even CNN, MSNBC and The New York Times likely wouldn’t be able to ignore (even if they and the WaPo framed it as “Palestinians snubbed as Trump brokers deal between Israel and Jamal Khashoggi‘s killers“)

    The point is not to move towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the point is for Israel to open formal diplomatic relations with at least some Arab countries.

    Who knows? Perhaps it will build a constituency for compromise in all camps?  We can hope.

    • #19
  20. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is Sean Ono an actual real person?

    I follow little Sean (how I remember him) on Twitter. He is evidence of my theory that children often become the political opposites of their parents. That said, I think his father was much less the lefty and closer to the classic liberal type. Yes he wrote Imagine, possibly the worst song lyrically and musically to reach such popularity in history.  But he also wrote Revolution- not a great song either, but the message was anti- left. 

    I can’t tell you how many lefty atheists I know who were children of preachers and ministers. 

     

    • #20
  21. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Turkey’s President Erdogan isn’t too happy about the deal.

    Turkey may suspend ties with the UAE.

    Erdogan was speaking to reporters in Istanbul after the Turkish Foreign Ministry said history will never forgive the “hypocritical behaviour” of the UAE in agreeing such a deal.

    • #21
  22. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    Obama-Biden can legitimately claim they are due ALL the credit for this! If they hadn’t so “bullockeds up” the Middle East there is no way Trump could have pulled this off. First, by coozing up to Iran they scared the bejeezus out of the Saudis & the Gulf states- so they went looking for allies (the enemy of my enemy is my friend- so viola Israel starts looking good to them). Second, by allowing Iran to make a nuke, the Gulf states need a nuclear armed friend who can’t leave like the US (again the Israelis). Third, by backing away from Israel, Obama made Israel willing to look for new regional partners as well. The next critical step was made by Trump- moving the embassy to Jerusalem and saying that the US would recognize Israeli annexations of the West Bank we made that a great bargaining chip for Israel. None of this would have happened with out Ben Rhodes screwing everything up & gaslighting the naive twenty something journalists covering the Middle East.

    • #22
  23. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    This is authentic good news. Good job.

    Yes. Good Job Trump.

    Your pick for President never would have done this.

     

    Hey Guys. Lets try to be better than gloaters.

    Quoted because I can only like it once.

    • #23
  24. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is Sean Ono an actual real person?

    He’s the son of John and Yoko, yes. Julian Lennon, who had a couple of hits in the eighties, is his half brother, the son of John and his first wife.

    • #24
  25. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Shouldn’t we be giving some credit to Obama here?  His fecklessness, his tacit endorsement of Iranian misbehavior, and his express endorsement of the idea of Iranian regional hegemony drove Arabs and Israelis into each other’s arms and made this deal possible.

    • #25
  26. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    Franco (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Is Sean Ono an actual real person?

    I follow little Sean (how I remember him) on Twitter. He is evidence of my theory that children often become the political opposites of their parents. That said, I think his father was much less the lefty and closer to the classic liberal type. Yes he wrote Imagine, possibly the worst song lyrically and musically to reach such popularity in history. But he also wrote Revolution- not a great song either, but the message was anti- left.

    I can’t tell you how many lefty atheists I know who were children of preachers and ministers.

     

    There have been stories out there for a while now that John was trending Reagan Democrat when he was murdered. Sean, born in 1975, was too young to really absorb anything directly from dad on the political front if that’s true, but the DNA may still have been in there to question the normal entertainment world BS and not fall into the group-think mindset.

    • #26
  27. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    Shouldn’t we be giving some credit to Obama here? His fecklessness, his tacit endorsement of Iranian misbehavior, and his express endorsement of the idea of Iranian regional hegemony drove Arabs and Israelis into each other’s arms and made this deal possible.

    Oh, there’s no question that after a half a century of both the Arabs and the Israelis thinking the U.S. would be there to back them up if they were threatened externally, and would be the arbiter if and when they were threatening each other, Obama’s shift towards Iran (which seemed to be driven most by Valerie Jarrett) had both sides thinking America could no longer be counted on to have their backs.

    The amazingly clueless thing here I suspect is that while the Obama crowd really wanted to stick it this Israelis, due to a combination of both inherent Jew-hating and the desire to punish them for continuing to elect Likud-controlled governments (which in the Democrats’ eyes makes them a de facto Red state, like Texas), I don’t think they thought for a second that tilting towards the Shiia Muslims in Iran was going to freak out the Sunni leaders in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere and cause them to form an almost totally open alliance with Israel. They thought siding with Iran and enabling their nuclear program would simply take away Israel’s weaponry advantage in the Middle East, and that the Mullahs’ support for Hezbollah combined with the support of Hamas by the Saudis and the Gulf States would finally force Israel to give in to the two-state demands.

    (Biden’s people at the very least are smart enough here to keep any feelings about kicking their pets or breaking furniture over Trump’s diplomatic win to themselves. Not so Ben Rhodes and a few others, who are openly fuming about the possibility of a true peace deal, and it will be interesting to see if other Democrats show the same lack of self control and validate Sean Ono Lennon’s tweet about them.)

    • #27
  28. DrewInWisconsin, Unhelpful Communicator Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Unhelpful Communicator
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Unhelpful Com… (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    This is authentic good news. Good job.

    “Good job,” who?

    By the Trump Administration. They did well here.

    Heh. The “administration.” Okay. ; )

    • #28
  29. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    This huge!  Thank God for Trump’s presidency. With Obama we were making deals with Iran to isolate Israel. Now we have constructed a peace that isolates Iran!  Huge!

    • #29
  30. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Unhelpful Com… (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    This is authentic good news. Good job.

    “Good job,” who?

    By the Trump Administration. They did well here.

    Come on Gary. You know in your heart that having Trump for president was better than a Hillary presidency and will be far better than a Biden presidency. 

    • #30
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