Abraham Accords

The Abraham Accords are a series of treaties normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, facilitated by the U.S. Administration between August and December, 2020. In the span of five short months, these four Arab states joined Egypt and Jordan in making peace with Israel. The agreements were called “The Abraham Accords” in honour of Abraham – the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Background

The Abraham Accords began with the ground-breaking Israel-UAE agreement in August, 2020.

• The UAE and Israel have never fought militarily, but the UAE did participate in the Arab League boycott against Israel, which had been in
place since Israel’s establishment in 1948.
• The agreement was the result of shared interests regarding threats posed by Iran’s regime and years of quiet/secret cooperation.
• Israel opened an international diplomatic office in UAE in 2015, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen made several secret trips there, and the two governments cooperated to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
• Both countries are interested in diversifying their economies and engaging with each other to achieve that goal.
• Israel agreed to freeze its plans for annexation/application of sovereignty in the West Bank as part of the deal.