Trump Announces Bahrain, Israel 'Peace Deal'
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday a "peace deal" between Israel and Bahrain, which becomes the second Arab country to settle with its former foe in less than a month.
"Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain agree to a Peace Deal – the second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days!" Trump tweeted.
A joint U.S.-Israel-Bahrain statement said there would be "full diplomatic relations."
Bahrain has agreed to formalize the deal with Israel at a ceremony on September 15 at the White House, where the United Arab Emirates will also sign off on its own thaw with Israel announced in mid-August.
According to the statement, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump talked earlier Friday before announcing the breakthrough.
At the White House Trump celebrated, calling it "a truly historic day" and "so interesting" that he was able to make the announcement on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.
"When I took office the Middle East was in a state of absolute chaos," said Trump, who faces a difficult re-election in just over seven weeks.
In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also hailed the agreement.
"Citizens of Israel, I am moved to be able to tell you that this evening, we are reaching another peace agreement with another Arab country, Bahrain. This agreement adds to the historic peace with the United Arab Emirates," Netanyahu said in a Hebrew-language statement.
And in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, a senior official said the deal would boost regional "security, stability, prosperity."
- Trump redraws the lines -
Until now, Israel has been able to strike only two similar peace accords with Arab countries -- Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 -- and Trump is hoping that the diplomatic successes will give him badly needed momentum going into the November 3 election.
The Republican businessman has styled himself as the most pro-Israeli US president in history.
He has taken a string of decisions highly beneficial to Israel, from recognizing disputed Jerusalem as the country's capital to tearing up an international accord that had been meant to end Iran's isolation in return for verified controls to ensure against militarization of its nuclear industry.
At the same time, Trump has pushed to wind down the United States' own military footprint in the region after decades of bloody entanglements. His earlier success in getting an Israel-UAE normalization prompted a right-wing Norwegian member of parliament to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The UAE's earlier announcement of a normalization of relations with Israel broke with years of Arab League policy on the Middle East conflict but has seen pushback from the Palestinians and Iran, who both termed the deal a betrayal.
Trump, who has made crushing sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Israel's arch foe Iran a priority of his administration, predicted however that there would be a "very positive" development in the standoff with Tehran.
"I can see a lot of good things happening with respect to the Palestinians," he added, without giving details.
over 3 years
Spoken like a true Iranian boot licking slave, your screen name should be big ja3far.
over 3 years
I honestly do not know who is more irrational: you or Philipo! So now Arafat is a collaborator? The overwhelming majority of Palestinians supported the Oslo agreement (despite its many flaws). Were they also collaborators? There was a chance to have a peace but it was torpedoed by the right wings in both parties. As for South Africa, I suspect that you know zero about Mandela, the ANC and the struggle for freedom in that country so there is no point engaging with you on this issue!
over 3 years
bigjohn - I doubt it if you were involved in the apartheid movement. And no, I was not in diapers as I was in college in the USA in the mid 1980s. Now let us move to the relevant parts. Edward Said, who I respect tremendously and who outlined many of the flaws of the Olso agreement as I mentioned, is not the Palestinian public! When Palestinians were asked in December 1997, “What’s your opinion of the Oslo agreement? Would you say that you strongly support, support, oppose, or strongly oppose it?,” 68% of the public supported or strongly supported the agreements. A simple googling would support what I stated.
over 3 years
The PNA did not give Israel any legitimacy. Israel is imposing its will by force and would have done so with or without the PNA. Let us say you dissolve the PNA (and I am not saying that it should not be done as there are positives and negatives to the move), what would you suggest as a next step? Do you really think Israel will stop the occupation? Would they stop the settlements? What do you propose as a solution? Talk is easy but when you deal with life and death and the welfare of your people, options become a lot more difficult!
over 3 years
Except of course if you can build a country through slogans! We saw how this worked for us in Lebanon!
over 3 years
Please look at the past tense in my sentence above. At the time of signing, it was supported by Palestinians. As for South Africa, once the Apartheid regime lost the public relation battle in the US (it was lost in Europe already) because of the mobilization and empowerment of the black community within the Democratic party, it was game over.
over 3 years
he situation for the Palestinians is fundamentally different. One can argue that sympathy for the Palestinians would have reached similar levels as to shift the public opinion in the US, but this is very doubtful (South Africa does not have anything near the constituency that Israel has in the US). And with the ascendance of religious movements (including Hamas), that made it impossible. Prior to Hamas (nothing to say about all the other crazy Islamist movements), It used to be so easy to argue the Palestinian cause in debates in public (including ones organized by Hillel club). It was about justice and international law. Now, with the ascendance of the religious right, what do we have to offer for an argument?
over 3 years
The mistake the Palestinian leadership did was to go around the Palestinian negotiators back and sign and interim agreement with open ended language. That was a misjudgement (perhaps tinged with political survival on part of the PLO leadership who did not want to be in the limelight). But that is not treason or collaboration. The Palestinians held out for all of the West Bank and Gaza and East Jerusalem and they were close. Unfortunately, a fickle (and cheap) Israeli government waited too long to make enough concessions and a Hamas suicide bombings against civilians turned an already divided Israeli public decidedly against concessions and since then we had right wings governments in Israel!
over 3 years
The Palestinians held out for all of the West Bank and Gaza and East Jerusalem and they were close. Also, they refused to extinguish the right of return.
over 3 years
It is a Dictatorship that is signing the agreement and this dictatorship happens to be Sunni and is opposed by the majority of the population and on this issue opposed by the overwhelming majority of the population.
over 3 years
Constitutional monarchy! Please explain to us what that means? And please explain to us the legal framework that limits the power of the monarch? and how this framework or constitution adopted?! s.o.s., Bahrain is an absolute monarchy! There used to be an one point of time a very small venue to express an opinion but that is gone for more than a decade.
over 3 years
Lebanon can now choose
1. stay with hizbullah Lebanon will continue with - death, destruction, no hope, no jobs, no arab money, no functioning central bank, no dollars - no future no life
or
2. sign the peace treaty and Lebanon will have - peace, stability, with hope, jobs, arab money, functioning central bank, dollars - future and life
over 3 years
He who offers you peace, can take it away from you. To Earn Peace, you have to Make it.
over 3 years
S.o.s heretic, this was not done by the bahraini people. It was done by their dictator. You love dictators don't you? Let me guess your response is "iran bla bla bla". Also, if the shia lebanese (yes ghasbin 3annak lebanese) aren't smart, how come they were able to control lebanon while you are sitting on naharnet?
over 3 years
Same troll new look
over 3 years
Only if there is a just peace with Palestinians.
over 3 years
sos - I respect your position but the majority of Lebanese disagree with you on this. Yes, we must prioritize Lebanon first but we do not need to abandon the Palestinians.
over 3 years
You know quite well that the "Palestinians" don't want "Peace with Israel" they want "Pieces of Israel" with their state from the sea (Mediterranean) to the river (Jordan). Wake up old chap, you know that is never going to happen.
over 3 years
That is a position that has a lot of merit but I doubt that 20 years will suffice. The Palestinian issue will not be resolved until the balance of power in the region shifts and this is only possible when Arab countries develop systems of governance that enable their societies and economies to advance - hint: democracy and rule of law.
over 3 years
You just can stand it when the moderate Arab States push themselves forward into the 21st Century, whilst your beloved PA and Hamas want to pull the whole region back into the first half of the 20th Century.
Wake up, the whole of the rest of the world is going forwards not backwards.
over 3 years
InshAllah Lebanon is next to sign the treaty.
over 3 years
This is a passing cloud and it will be clear and sunny and the Arab people will be free and tear those worthless pieces of papers ... from a peasant with a PhD from top 50 university.
over 3 years
Bahrain is irrelevant they are majority Shia controlled my minorities Suni, leadership of Bahrain is corrupt, also even most Sunis do not support the Saudi and US supported leadership of Bahrain. but Israel was one few countries who supported Apartheid South Africa, Israel is terror state wanted by international courts, its leaders are criminal, not a real state............
over 3 years
I wouldn't want to be in Tehran if they try it.
over 3 years
So you should, they were the only refugee group that left their homes over 70 years ago at the behest of their leaders. The countries they left to, mainly Lebanon, Syria and Jordan refused to integrate them, refused to grant them citizenship, and even the few that remain now together with their descendents are still living in upmost poverty in refugee camps.
over 3 years
"You do not want to be treated the way the Palestinians have bean treated."
How right you are.
The fellow Moslem countries they left to, mainly Lebanon, Syria and Jordan (including the Jordanian-occupied West Bank), Egypt (including the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip) refused to integrate them, refused to grant them citizenship, and even the few that remain now together with their descendents are still living in upmost poverty in refugee camps.
Bigjohn the settler, get a life.