Today, President Trump gave a press briefing from the oval office at the White House announcing the signing of the Historic Abraham Accord Peace Agreement. The agreement will normalize diplomatic relations and open Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to trade, tourism, and security among other areas to advance peace in the middle east.
The President remarked, "I hosted a very special call with two friends — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates — where they agreed to finalize a historical peace agreement".
The President continued, "After 49 years, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalize their diplomatic relations. They will exchange embassies and ambassadors, and begin cooperation across the board and on a broad range of areas, including tourism, education, healthcare, trade, and security".
"This is a truly historic moment. Not since the Israel-Jordan peace treaty was signed more than 25 years ago has so much progress been made towards peace in the Middle East. By uniting two of America’s closest and most capable partners in the region — something which said could not be done — this deal is a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous Middle East", the President said.
United States Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, explained why the peace agreement is called the "Abraham Accord", "Abraham, as many of you know, was the father of all three great faiths. He is referred to as 'Abraham' in the Christian faith, 'Ibrahim' in the Muslim faith, and 'Avraham' in the Jewish faith. And no person better symbolizes the potential for unity among all these three great faiths than Abraham, and that’s why this accord has been given that name".
President Trump responded, "It’s a great — great thing. I wanted it to be called the 'Donald J. Trump Accord', but I didn’t think the press would understand that. I didn’t do that".
Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to the President, said, "The President, like with all things, urged us to take an untraditional approach. You can’t solve problems that have gone unsolved by doing it the same way that people before you have tried and failed". He continued, "The President takes untraditional approaches. He does things in different ways, but he uses common sense and he tries to unite people by focusing on common interests, as opposed to allowing them to focus on their common grievances. And what happened was, here — is we were able to achieve results that others were not able to achieve, and this will advance the region, and this will advance the whole world".
In a lighter moment, the President asked Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, "So, which is easier: dealing with the Democrats or dealing with the Middle East?" Mnuchin responded, "Well, a lot of people never thought you’d get this type of deal". He continued, "So I’ll be hopeful that we can deal with the Democrats". The President added, "I think the Middle East is more reasonable, actually".
Israel will also honor the terms of the Vision for Peace President Trump proposed in January. Under the terms of that agreement, Israel will no longer declare sovereignty over areas outlined in the deal, allow all Muslims to visit the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and focus on building new diplomatic ties with other Arab and Muslim nations.
“The parties will continue their efforts in this regard to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the joint statement reads.
Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made a statement via Twitter, "Today opened a new era in the State of Israel's relations with the Arab world: we have decided on the establishment of an official and complete peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. There will be more Arab and Muslim countries joining the peace circle with us. Real peace - not a password. Peace out of power, peace for peace".
The President stated the delegations will meet for an official signing of the agreement at the White House in the next couple of weeks.
