US Secretary of State Atony Blinken joined a Zoom conference on Friday to mark the anniversary of the normalization of Israel’s relations with UAE and Bahrain, mediated by Washington last year.
“Today, a year after the Accords, normalization agreements were signed, the benefits continue to grow. We are seeing deepening diplomatic relationships,” he claimed.
Blinken noted at the virtual meeting, attended by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, former UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash and Bahrain’s US envoy, Abdullah Al Khalifa, that the current US administration would “continue to build on the successful efforts of the last administration to keep normalization marching forward.”
Apart from improving Israeli ties with Abu-Dhabi and Manama, Washington is determined to attract Arab countries to join the agreement, according to Blinken.
“We want to widen the circle of peaceful diplomacy, because it’s in the interest of countries across the region and around the world for Israel to be treated like any other country,” he said.
Referring to the issue of Palestine, the secretary said that world countries “must build on these relationships and growing normalization to make tangible improvements in the lives of Palestinians” and make “progress toward the long-standing goal of advancing a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
“Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal measures of freedom, security and opportunity and dignity,” he pointed out.
On the 15th of September 2020 Israel signed an agreement to normalize relations with the UAE and Bahrain. The historic acts, titled the Abraham Accords, stipulates that Israel postpone its decision to annex territories in the West Bank, with the sides agreeing to cooperate for peace and stability in the region.
President Donald Trump, center, with from left, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump, and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
© AP Photo / Alex Brandon
Prior to signing the Abraham Accords, Egypt and Jordan were the only Arab states to have formal relations with Israel. The Kingdom of Morocco and Sudan later followed the suit.
The agreements were said to be also a joint effort to oppose what was described by some as an “Iranian threat.” Israeli media previously reported that Tel Aviv mulls a four-nation defense alliance that would include Israel, the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, to respond to Iran's rapidly growing influence in the Middle East.