Bahrain and the UAE have established relations with Israel

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Representatives of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements in Washington to establish full fledged diplomatic relations with Israel. President Donald Trump called the normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and the Jewish state the beginning of the new Middle East.

Prior to the ceremony, which took place on the lawn near the White House, Trump said that another five or six countries could establish official contacts with Israel. We have at least five or six countries to follow very soon, without specifying which states.

The United States has acted as a mediator in the negotiations and for Trump. According to many observers, the agreements are a major achievement from which it will want to benefit less than two months before the election in which it is seeking re-election.

Trump spoke in connection with the signing of agreement on the dawn of the new Middle East. We are here this afternoon to change the course of history. Today's establishment of diplomatic relations as a great success thanks to which people of all faiths and backgrounds will live together in peace and prosperity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called today's act a historic turning point that could end the Israeli-Arab conflict once and for all.

In a speech, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayd Nahayan thanked Netanyahu for suspending plans to annex the occupied parts of the West Bank to which the Palestinians claim. The decision to normalize relations with Israel was announced by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in mid-August. At that time, they were only the third Arab country to take a similar step. Jordan last did so in 1994, and before Egypt in 1979.

However, since the UAE's announcement, there has been a discussion in diplomatic circles that other countries could join Abu Dhabi after this breaking of the taboo. This was confirmed last week by Trump, when he announced on Friday that the next state will be Bahrain . The establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel is taking place against the background of the shared concerns of the participating countries about the actions of Iran.

According to Reuters, the Trump government tried to force other Sunni countries to take the same step, especially the most influential of them Saudi Arabia. However, Riyadh has indicated that he is not ready for it now.

In the Palestinian West Bank on Tuesday, people protested against the normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel. According to the protesters, which took place in Nablus and Hebron and are also planned for Ramallah, these agreements mean betrayal of the Palestinians. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and the Palestinians hope to have their own state in the territory. The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 assumed that Arab countries would normalize relations with Israel only in exchange for an end to the occupation. No normalization with the occupier. These are shameful agreements betrayal stood on banners carried by participants in Tuesday's demonstrations.

At the time of the signing ceremony in Washington, warning sirens sounded in southern Israel indicating the firing of rockets from the Palestinian Gaza Strip. According to Israeli television Channel 12, two people were injured in the city of Ashdod. Immediately after the announcement of the normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel, the Palestinians condemned the agreement as a dagger to the back of Arab unity.