US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the agreement to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates will be signed within three weeks at the White House.
• Read also: Historic UAE-Israel Normalization Agreement
During his daily press conference, Mr. Trump thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, “two fantastic people, for their vision and leadership. “.
“I look forward to welcoming them to the White House very soon for the formal signing of the agreement. This will likely happen within the next three weeks. They will come to Washington ”, explained the American president.
Mr. Trump also created some confusion by claiming that Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank was “on the fence”.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who attended the press conference, intervened to clarify that the project was “not ruled out for good.”
“The wording was chosen with care by the different parties. “Temporary break”, it is not ruled out definitively, “he added.
Mr Trump said more peace deals could be signed in the coming weeks.
“We have other interesting things going on with other countries, which are also linked to peace agreements,” he said. “And there will be a lot of big news in the coming weeks. I am sure you will be very impressed ”.
Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner also said earlier that there was “a good chance” that other Arab countries would normalize their relations with the Hebrew state.
With the deal, the UAE will become the third only Arab country to maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.
Washington awaits further agreements between Israel and Arab countries
White House adviser Jared Kushner said on Thursday that there was a “strong chance”, after the agreement to normalize relations found between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, that other Arab countries would do the same. in the coming months with the Hebrew state.
“I think there is a good chance,” President Donald Trump’s son-in-law replied to reporters asking if a new deal like this could be finalized by the US presidential election on November 3.
Negotiated by the United States, the agreement between Israel and the Emirates will allow him to “break the ice between these two countries”.
“We hope from today to see other countries start to do the same,” he added.
Mr. Kushner, architect of the American peace plan for the Middle East presented in January, described as “relatively predictable” the reaction of the Palestinian Authority, which denounced the agreement Israel / Emirates, evoking a “betrayal”.
With the deal, the UAE will become the third only Arab country to maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.
Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, also hinted that other Arab countries were “in line” to join the list.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyane, or another Emirati ruler, are invited to the White House for an “official signing ceremony” of the agreement, said Mr. O’Brien.
The latter also argued that Donald Trump would deserve to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“It will take time in this context, but it would not surprise me if the president ends up being nominated for a Nobel Prize,” said his adviser.