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A30 world news
Diaranson 16 september 2020

Israel signs pacts with 2 Arab states: A 'new' Mideast?

fired from Gaza and one was nance, trade, aviation, energy, with large numbers of Jewish
intercepted by air defenses. telecommunications, health, constituents.
Earlier in the day, Palestin- agriculture and water. Questions remain, however,
ian activists held small dem- During the signing ceremo- about the significance of the
onstrations in the West Bank ny, the leaders were seated at agreements. Even in Israel,
and in Gaza, where they a long table where President where the accords have re-
trampled and set fire to pic- Harry S. Truman once held ceived widespread acclaim,
tures of Trump, Netanyahu weekly luncheon meetings there is concern they might
and the leaders of the UAE with his Cabinet. Discus- result in U.S. sales of sophis-
and Bahrain. sions about the Truman Doc- ticated weaponry to the UAE
Israel and the U.S. hope the trine to restrain Soviet ex- and Bahrain, thus potentially
agreements can usher in a pansion during the Cold War upsetting Israel's qualitative
major shift in the region and the Marshall Plan to send military edge in the region.
should other Arab nations, billions in economic aid to Trump said he is OK with
particularly Saudi Arabia, fol- Western Europe after World selling military aircraft to the
low suit. That could have im- War II were held at the table. UAE. Pelosi also welcomed
plications for Iran, Syria and The stagecraft, including live the agreements but said she
(AP) — Israel on Tuesday min Netanyahu said the day Lebanon. Until now, Israel music and flags was meant to wants to learn details, specifi-
signed historic diplomatic "is a pivot of history. It her- has had peace deals only with evoke previous Middle East cally what the Trump admin-
pacts with two Gulf Arab alds a new dawn of peace." Egypt and Jordan. agreements. Trump's political istration has told the UAE
states at a White House cer- Neither Netanyahu nor Other Arab countries be- backers are looking to boost about buying American-
emony that President Don- Trump mentioned the Pales- lieved to be close to recog- his standing as a statesman made F-35 aircraft and about
ald Trump declared will mark tinians in their remarks, but nizing Israel include Oman, with just seven weeks to go Israel agreeing to freeze ef-
the "dawn of a new Middle both the UAE and Bahraini Sudan and Morocco. before Election Day. Until forts to annex portions of the
East," casting himself as an foreign ministers spoke of "We are very down the road now, foreign policy has not West Bank.
international peacemaker at the importance of creating a with about five different had a major role in a cam- The UAE and Bahrain have a
the height of his reelection Palestinian state. countries," Trump told re- paign dominated by the coro- history of suppressing dissent
campaign. Emirati Foreign Minister porters before the ceremony. navirus, racial issues and the and critical public opinion,
The bilateral agreements for- Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Many longtime Mideast ana- economy. but there have been indica-
malize the normalization of Al Nahyan, the brother of lysts and former officials, Besides Republicans, a few tions that the agreements are
Israel's already thawing rela- Abu Dhabi's powerful crown among others, have expressed House Democrats attended not nearly as popular or well-
tions with the United Arab prince, even thanked Ne- doubts about the impact of the event, a notable devel- received as they are in Israel.
Emirates and Bahrain in line tanyahu for "halting the an- the signings. opment at a time when their Neither country sent its head
with their common opposi- nexation" of West Bank land In addition to the bilateral leader, House Speaker Nan- of state or government to sign
tion to Iran. But the agree- claimed by the Palestinians in agreements signed by Is- cy Pelosi is barely on speak- the deals with Netanyahu.
ments do not address the de- exchange for Emirati recog- rael, the UAE and Bahrain, ing terms with the president. Bahrain's largest Shiite-
cades-long conflict between nition. Netanyahu, however, all three signed a document Many Democrats, includ- dominated opposition group,
Israel and the Palestinians, has insisted that Israel has dubbed the "Abraham Ac- ing presidential nominee Joe Al-Wefaq, which the govern-
who view the pacts as a stab only suspended its plans to cords" after the patriarch Biden, widely support the ment ordered dissolved in
in the back from their fellow annex West Bank settlements. of the world's three major deal. 2016 amid a yearslong crack-
Arabs and a betrayal of their "Today, we are already wit- monotheistic religions. Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., down on dissent, said there is
cause for a Palestinian state. nessing a change in the heart The "Abraham Accords" said she accepted the invita- widespread rejection of nor-
Hundreds of people massed of the Middle East — a and the bilateral agreement tion immediately on receiv- malization.
on the sun-washed South change that will send hope signed by Israel and Bah- ing it over the weekend. "It The ceremony followed
Lawn to witness the signing around the world," al-Nahy- rain fell short of more de- definitely was a monumental months of intricate diplo-
of agreements in a festive at- an said. tailed formal treaties that are event, and the ceremony was macy headed by Jared Kush-
mosphere little marked by Bahrani Foreign Minister the diplomatic norm. Both very fitting for that," Luria, a ner, Trump's son-in-law and
the coronavirus pandemic. Abdullatif al-Zayani said documents were made up of member of the House Armed senior adviser, and the presi-
Attendees did not practice Bahrain would stand with the general statements pledging Services Committee, said in dent's envoy for international
social distancing and most Palestinians. "Today is a truly to advance diplomacy, mu- a telephone interview after- negotiations, Avi Berkowitz.
guests didn't wear masks. historic occasion," he said. "A tual cooperation and regional ward. On Aug. 13, the Israel-UAE
"We're here this afternoon to moment for hope and oppor- peace. Like Luria, some other Dem- deal was announced. That
change the course of history," tunity." The most detailed of the ocrats in attendance, such was followed by the first di-
Trump said from a balcony But in the Gaza Strip, Pal- agreements was the one be- as Rep. Anthony Brindisi of rect commercial flight be-
overlooking the South Lawn. estinian militants fired two tween Israel and the United New York, are freshmen in tween the countries, and
"After decades of division and rockets into Israel, appar- Arab Emirates. The nations tough reelection races. Still then the Sept. 11 announce-
conflict, we mark the dawn ently meant to coincide with agreed to approve bilateral others, such as Florida Reps. ment of the Bahrain-Israel
of a new Middle East." the ceremony. The Israeli agreements on 15 areas of Ted Deutch and Stephanie agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benja- military said the rockets were mutual interest, including fi- Murphy hail from districts

Hundreds of Jewish pilgrims stuck on Belarus-Ukraine border

(AP) — About 700 Jewish pilgrims were stuck a surge in COVID-19 infections. President Alexander Lukashenko's spokeswoman,
Tuesday on the Belarus border due to coroavi- Belarus, which shares a long border with Ukraine, Natalia Eismont, said Belarus was ready to provide
rus restrictions that barred them from entering has not shut its borders to travelers. buses to drive the pilgrims to Uman and back and
Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dis- make all the necessary precautions to prevent a
Ukrainian Border Guard chief Serhiy Deineko said cussed the situation with the border guard chief, spike in new infections.
at least 690 ultra-Orthodox Jews were gathering at who said he had deployed additional forces to pro-
the border in Belarus and more than 3,000 were tect the border and arranged for aircraft and drones
expected at checkpoints in hopes of crossing over to help patrol it.
and reaching the city of Uman in Ukraine. A few hundred cargo trucks backed up due to the
The grave of an important Hasidic rabbi who died chaos at the border.
in 1810, Nachman of Breslov, is located in Uman. Late Tuesday, the Belarusian government said it
Thousands of pilgrims visit the city each Septem- was offering to help Ukraine set up a "green cor-
ber for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. How- ridor" for the pilgrims to get to Uman and back to
ever, Ukraine closed its borders in late August amid Belarus.