US QUIETLY WORKING TO EXPAND ABRAHAM ACCORDS IN MIDDLE EAST

Fri 17 December 2021:

The United States is quietly working to expand the Trump-era Abraham Accords in the middle East, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday.

“We’ve worked to strengthen the existing Abraham Accords and we are working quietly but quite judiciously to expand the Abraham Accords,” the official said during a conference call. “These things take some time but very much a focus of ours.”

Expert on the region discussed some important aspects of the normalization agreements and how there is now a new spotlight on Egypt and Jordan ties. This has involved more high-level visits to both countries as well as talk of solar and energy projects in Jordan.

Both Israel and the United Arab Emirates have boasted of dividends since signing their accord in the presence of Trump at the White House in September 2020.

Israel has made progress in its long-term goal of ending its isolation in its near neighborhood, while the United Arab Emirates has voiced hope at $1 trillion in new economic activity over the next decade through trade.

Saudi Crown Prince MBS Discussed ‘normalising Ties’ With Israel

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed the ‘normalization of ties’ with Israel during his recent interaction with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sept. 27 meeting in Neom, a city in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, at least three US and Arab sources told Axios. Interestingly, the Saudi Crown Prince did not reject the proposal, sources familiar with the development informed the network.

MBS agreed to discuss normalizing ties with Tel Aviv, as well as improving the bilateral ties between the US and Saudi Arabia following the Biden administration’s public accusations against the Kingdom for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The latter, however, reportedly handed Sullivan a list of some steps that the US needed to take for the normalization of relations with Israel. Axios report speculated that the list may carry the conditions for Israel to fix the Palestinian issue.

The two counterparts also discussed broadening the historic Abraham Accords by bringing Saudi Arabia as one of the signatories. Although, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan’s meeting with Secretary of State Tony Blinken last Thursday in Washington did not have either of the two officials mention a word about the Abraham Accords or the ties with Israel. Report suggests that the Biden administration officials have revealed to the Israeli officials that the US has “quietly” been engaging Arab and other Muslim countries to normalize ties with Israel.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

Photo: Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi with Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali bennett in Abu Dhabi.

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