The Abraham Accords, Eight Months Later

Thus far, under the Biden Administration, no new normalization deals have been signed or have been anticipated by anyone other than officials from the previous administration, those responsible for the four successful diplomatic breakthroughs between Israel and its regional neighbors, known as the Abraham Accords. 

Like most of Israel nowadays, such diplomatic achievements cannot be taken for granted given the historical struggle of Israel being accepted in its neighborhood. 

The United Arab Emirates was the first nation to take sign onto the Abraham Accords in August of last year, which set off unprecedented momentum of peace in the conflict, riddled the Middle East.  

In the Arab Gulf both the UAE and Bahrain have allowed Israel to establish diplomatic missions in the forms of consulates and embassies, for the UAE, Abu Dhabi hosts their embassy, and the world-renowned Dubai is now home to an Israeli consulate. As recently as Tuesday, March 30, the Royal Bahrain Foreign Ministry appointed Khaled Yousif al-Jalahama as their Ambassador to Israel; he is expected to arrive in the Tel Aviv area to scout for an embassy location that will most likely open in the coming weeks.  

In the main English Emirati based paper, the Khaleej Times, a report indicates the potential of UAE-Israel trade to reach $6.5 billion, in the five months of normalization thus far, trade has reached around $280 Million and about 130,000 new tourists have made their way to the Gulf state. The UAE also recently announced that it would be setting up an investment fund of $10 billion aimed at strategic sectors in Israel. 

With all the economic Covid related setbacks, it’s clear that peace with Israel from the Gulf point of view is an excellent exit strategy in this pandemic, to build back better.