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The UAE Agreement is Important, but It Is Not a Peace Treaty
Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-US President Donald Trump, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan sign the Abraham Accords at the White House, Sept. 15, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The UAE Agreement is Important, but It Is Not a Peace Treaty

Maariv, Israel, September 16

A change in relations between countries, especially from a state of war to a state of peace, is certainly a monumental event. In ancient times, Native American tribes that signed peace pacts would hold ceremonies in which their leaders smoked a “peace pipe” and blew the smoke into the four cardinal directions to announce the attainment of peace. In the modern era, peace treaties of this sort are celebrated slightly differently, with impressive ceremonies and live broadcasts on television channels across the world. President Jimmy Carter started the tradition of holding peace ceremonies between Israel and the Arabs at the White House. The first ceremony was held in September 1978 on the occasion of the signing of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, with the participation of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. President Bill Clinton followed these footsteps and signed the Oslo Accords with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin at the White House lawn in September 1993. A year later, Clinton, Rabin and King Hussein signed a peace agreement with Jordan in a ceremony this time held in the Arava Valley. Thousands of people attended all these ceremonies and they were broadcast all over the world by thousands of journalists. The purpose of these ceremonies was to mobilize public opinion in support of the agreements among the signatory states and their existence in the White House was intended to illustrate the backing given to them by the United States and the international community. There was opposition in Israel to giving up Sinai in exchange for a peace agreement and the Egyptian people were opposed to normalization with Israel. The PLO and Israel had sworn they would never recognize each other and would not negotiate. Despite the good relations between King Hussein and Israeli leaders, he, too, was hostile to Israel. The ceremonies were meant to reduce public opposition to agreements both within the Arab world and in Israel, and to provide the groundwork for future relations between signatories. The agreements between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain are important but not at all similar to these previous agreements and ceremonies I described. They are not peace agreements between countries that have fought each other. This is a normalization of a relationship that has been going on behind closed doors for two decades. Unlike previous peace deals, there is virtually no opposition to this trilateral agreement in any one of the countries. Today, most of the Arab world welcomes the normalization of ties with Israel. Similarly, while the previous ceremonies were attended by the heads of state, the UAE and Bahrain were represented only by their foreign ministers. Furthermore, previous ceremonies outlined a path for cooperation, but it was unclear if the two sides would follow through. This time, the two sides followed through even before ink was put on paper. The truth is that Trump and Netanyahu were both looking for a victory picture that would shift public attention away from their dismal handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump is lagging behind his rival Joe Biden and has no accomplishments in foreign policy. The ceremony was meant to solve that problem. On Netanyahu’s end, the ceremony illustrated Israel’s international status and allayed anger revolving around the financial situation. However, it is important to remember that Carter’s impressive peace ceremonies did not help him win a second term and Trump is in the same situation today. Beyond the next few days, it is doubtful whether the ceremony will strengthen Netanyahu’s or Trump’s statuses. In both countries, the epidemic and the economic collapse are far more important than a shiny ceremony at the White House. – Eitan Gilboa (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

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