Israel and the two gulf states, UAE and Bahrain, have formally and publicly established diplomatic relations by agreeing on 12 points. The white house refers to this agreement as “The Abraham Accords”. The 12 point Abraham Accord, was signed on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 in the white house and represents a peace treaty establishing full relations between the 3 countries. Bahrain was represented by their foreign minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE by Abdullah bin Zayed. President Donald Trump summed this up as “the dawn of a new middle east” Netanyahu described the accord as a “pivot of history” considering that Israel is eager to invest in a future of prosperity and peace. The two states agreed to establish diplomatic relations, which is the first step for Bahrain to completely normalize its ties with Israel. “Normalized relations” which the accord establishes, mark a huge step forward, with the creation of embassies, commercial air routes, tourism, security and intelligence ties, and access to Israel’s high-technology products and marketplace. The declaration recognizes each state’s sovereignty and states that the two countries may seek agreements in the future regarding embassies and such topics.
The Abraham accords state -
1) Peace, diplomatic relations and full normalization of bilateral ties are hereby established between the UAE and Israel. 2) General principle – The parties shall be guided in their relations by the provisions of the charter of the united nations and the principles of international law governing relations among states. 3) Establishment of embassies – the parties shall exchange resident ambassadors as soon as practicable after the signing of the treaty, and shall conduct diplomatic and consular relations in accordance with the applicable rules of international law. 4) Peace and stability – The parties shall attach profound importance to cooperation and coordination between them in the spheres of peace and stability, as a fundamental pillar of their relations and as a means for enhancing those spheres in the Middle East as a whole. 5) Cooperation and agreements in other spheres like healthcare, science and technology, environment, education, agriculture, energy etc. 6) Mutual understanding and co-existence – under this, the countries shall conclude and implement the necessary visa and consular services agreements and arrangements so as to facilitate and secure travel for their respective to the territory of each other, and shall work together to counter extremism.
7) Strategic agenda for the middle east – The parties stand ready to join with the united states to develop and launch a “strategic agenda for the middle east” in order to expand regional, diplomatic, trade, stability and other cooperation by seeking to advance regional security, pursue regional economic opportunities, promote a culture of peace across the region and consider joint aid and development programs. 8) Other rights and obligations – This treaty does not affect and shall not be interpreted as affecting, in any way, the rights and obligations of the parties under the charter of the UN 9) Respect for Obligations – The parties undertake not to enter any obligation in conflict with this treaty. Subject to article 103 of the charter of the UN, in the event of a conflict between the obligations of the parties under the present treaty and any of their other obligations, the obligations under this treaty shall be binding and implemented. 10) Ratification and entry into force – This treaty shall be ratified by both parties as soon as practicable in conformity with their respective national procedures and will enter into force following the exchange of instruments of ratification. 11) Settlement of disputes – Disputes arising out of the application or interpretation of this treaty shall be resolved by negotiation. Any such dispute which cannot be settled by negotiation may be referred to conciliation or arbitration subject to agreement of the parties. 12) Registration (Treaty shall be transmitted to secretary general of the UN for registration in accordance with the provisions of article 102 of the charter of the UN). Considering how much of a valuable factor peace is, this treaty, in our opinion, is extremely vital for the 3 countries. It establishes a healthy relation between them and makes sure to tackle any possible conflicts. However, the normalization of Israel-emirates and Israel-Bahrain relations affirms and gives international blessings to much of the Israeli government’s status quo, which is fundamentally at odds with the Palestinian experience. An aggressive response conjured by the Palestinians makes it fair to say that this treaty is biased towards Israel. Countries in support of Palestine describe this deal as “hypocritical behavior” while the country itself thinks of the Abraham accords as a betrayal. With perceptions so severely rifted within the region in response to the deal, it seems "peace in the Middle East" is a sweeping concept to equate it to. After all, it’s Middle East we’re talking about.
Till Next Time,
~Risika Singh
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