The announcement of an agreement on the full normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel has been endorsed by the international community as an opportunity to consolidate the peace process in the Middle East
While disclosing this on Friday August 14, 2020, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said UN welcomes any initiative that can promote peace and security in the Middle East region.
US President Donald Trump’s presumptive Democratic challenger for the Presidency, Joe Biden, welcomed the “historic” agreement and called the UAE’s move a “badly-needed act of statesmanship”.
In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the deal, saying on Twitter that “the UAE and Israel’s decision to normalize relations is hugely good news.”
“It was my profound hope that annexation did not go ahead in the West Bank and today’s agreement to suspend those plans is a welcome step on the road to a more peaceful Middle East,” he said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was among the first in the Arab world to react to the agreement that includes an Israeli agreement to halt further annexation of Palestinian lands.
“I followed with interest and appreciation the joint statement between the United States, United Arab Emirates and Israel to halt the Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands and taking steps to bring peace in the Middle East,” Sisi said on Twitter.
“I value the efforts of those in charge of the deal to achieve prosperity and stability for our region.”
But the Palestinian leadership denounced the accord, calling for an emergency meeting for the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to reject it.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the deal an “aggression” against the Palestinian people and a “betrayal” of their cause, including their claim to Jerusalem as a capital of their future state.
Hanan Ashrawi, a veteran Palestinian negotiator and member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, also condemned the deal.
Hamas movement, which runs the coastal Gaza Strip, quickly said the agreement “does not serve the Palestinian cause”.
The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, also called it “shameful”.
