By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem, Israel — August 13, 2020 … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, from his office, spoke by telephone with US President Donald Trump and UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
Following the telephone conference, Netanyahu made the following statement:
“Today we usher in a new era of peace between Israel and the Arab world.
I just came from an historic virtual conference between myself, President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates. We announced the establishment of a full and formal peace between Israel and the UAE. It includes the mutual opening of embassies, direct flights and many, many other bilateral agreements.”
Netanyahu adds: “This is the greatest advancement toward peace between Israel and the Arab world in the last 26 years and it marks the third formal peace agreement between Israel and an Arab nation.
In 1979, Prime Minister Menachem Begin made peace with Egypt. In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a peace treaty with Jordan. And today, I am honored to announce a formal peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates. I believe that there is a good chance that we will soon see more Arab countries join this expanding circle of peace.
I want to thank President Trump for his critical help in brokering this historic accord. And I want to thank him for his revolutionary Vision for Peace, which is the most realistic and important formula for peace in the region. President Trump’s Middle East plan served as a basis for today’s historic peace announcement.
Israel and the UAE are two of the most advanced countries in the world.
Together, we will transform the region and forge an even better future for our people. This is a future of peace, a future of security and a future of prosperity.
I’ve always believed that we could establish peace with the Arab world and I have been working towards that lofty goal for decades. You may not know it, but I’ve been doing it all the time in meetings that are publicized and in many that are not. In Washington, in the Middle East, in daylight and in nighttime.
In recent years, Israel under my leadership has made advancements in ties with such countries as Sudan, Oman, Bahrain and other nations in the Gulf. I have reason to be very optimistic that today’s announcement with the UAE will be followed by more Arab nations joining our region’s circle of peace.
And to the people of Abu Dhabi, and its leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, I say Salaam alaikum. Shalom Aleichem. Peace unto thee. Peace unto all of us.״
Netanyahu called foreign intelligence Mossad Director Yossi Cohen and thanked him for the assistance of the Mossad in developing the ties with the Arab Gulf states over the years, which assisted in bringing the peace treaty to fruition.
Israel President Reuven Rivlin said: “The agreement between Israel and the UAE is an important and strategic milestone for new opportunities in our region. I hope that this step will also lead to strengthening trust between us and the peoples of the region, and to a broad-based and stable understanding among us all.”
Israel agreed to suspend its planned extension of sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) to facilitate relations with the UAE and potentially other Arab and Muslim countries.
The peace agreement will include establishing embassies and exchanging ambassadors, investments in the Israeli economy, trade, direct flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, an investment in Israeli efforts to develop a Coronavirus vaccine and cooperation in matters of energy and water. An important element of the deal for the UAE is the expectation that its citizens would be able to visit the Al-Aksa mosque in Jerusalem.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said: “the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE will make Israel stronger and safer and will likely lead to additional exciting opportunities and incremental prosperity for Israel, its neighbors and the entire region.”
The Israel News Agency will interview Dr. Josef Olmert, professor of ME studies at University of South Carolina, former Israel GPO Director, participant in the Madrid and DC peace talks with Syria on Zoom on
Aug 14, 2020 at 11:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) .
The INA will discuss the Israeli – United Arab Emirates peace agreement and it’s affect on the region.
You can register in advance to witness this live interview at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUoduusqjsvGdL1lUBqd-HeEo7KWGZcTQNn
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about witnessing the interview.