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The city hall in Tel Aviv has been lit up with the flags of Israel and the United Arab Emirates after the two countries declared they would be establishing full diplomatic ties.
Israel's president has also invited the leader of the United Arab Emirates to visit Jerusalem.
President Reuven Rivlin made the invitation on Twitter on Thursday, within hours of the major announcement that Israel and the UAE were establishing full diplomatic ties.
Tel Aviv City Hall lit up with the flags of the United Arab Emirates and Israel the countries announced they would be establishing full diplomatic ties, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) (AP)
"I invite the crown prince to visit Jerusalem," he wrote, adding a greeting in Arabic.
The gesture comes as the UAE on Thursday became only the third Arab country to agree to have full ties with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.
President Donald Trump first announced the major development, saying the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.
The mayor of liberal Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, congratulated Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on the "double achievement" of peace with the UAE and shelving of plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
But not all have welcomed the agreement.
The Hamas militant group accused the United Arab Emirates of stabbing the Palestinians in the back by agreeing to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.
The reaction came shortly after President Donald Trump's tweet.
"This announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupation's crimes," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
"The normalisation is a stabbing in the back of our people."
The Islamic militant Hamas movement seeks Israel's destruction and has fought three wars and has fought three wars against Israel since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, followers of the Hasidic sect of Shomrei Emunim, wearing protective face masks amid concerns over the country's coronavirus outbreak, attend the funeral of their Rabbi Refael Aharon Roth, 72, who died from the virus, in Bnei Brak, Israel, on August 13, 2020. (AP)
'A truly history moment'
Following his tweet, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the agreement was "a truly historic moment".
"Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates," he said.
President Donald Trump is applauded after speaking in the Oval Office at the White House. (AP)
The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Mr Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.
Joe Biden has also called the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates "a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East."
The former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee issued a statement on Thursday, calling the agreement that the UAE publicly recognise Israel "a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship" and a "critical recognition that
Israel is a vibrant, integral part of the Middle East that is here to stay."
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces full diplomatic ties will be established with the United Arab Emirates, during a news conference on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020 in Jerusalem. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP) (AP)
For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged. Mr Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.
For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighbouring Gulf Arab states.
The Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residences (L) are seen from above. (Getty)
And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursday's deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalise relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.
A joint statement from the US, the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Mr Trump's tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
"Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations," said the statement by Mr Trump,
Mr Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.
A file photograph of Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev and Mohamed Bin Tha'loob Al Derai, President of UAE Wrestling Judo & Kickboxing Federation. (AP)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the deal.
"This is a remarkable achievement for two of the world's most forward leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region," he said in a statement.
"It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small — but strong — nations."
He added: "Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov."
Mr Netanyahu tweeted an Israeli flag with a short message in Hebrew: "Historic Day."
Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognised Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israel's war in Gaza at the time.
In addition to Mr Trump, the main US mediators for agreement were the president's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David
Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel.
The UAE is a US-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognise Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.
Families play on a public beach with the Burj al-Arab hotel behind them in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 29, 2020 (AP)
"Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood," the UAE's founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al
Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over US military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.
The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.
But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince
Mohammed also shares Israel's distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.
The UAE's state-run WAM news agency acknowledged the deal, framing it as not just a move that helps the UAE and Israel, but one that also carries benefits for the Palestinians.
It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to the US warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israel's planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would "upend" Israel's efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.
The agreement gives Mr Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israel's shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months. Mr Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.
Mr Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Mr Trump, ahead of US elections.
US President Donald Trump. (AP)
Still, by dropping the annexation plan Mr Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.
Mr Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Mr Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members — and the small, but influential settler movement — will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.
Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the
Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in the rapidly expanding West Bank settlements.
Next year, Israel will take part in the UAE's delayed Expo 2020, the world's fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.
Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still can't make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubai's gold and diamond trade as well.
Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/dona...stinians/1c402bdc-1f3a-4f12-b0c2-046fbd64b981
Israel's president has also invited the leader of the United Arab Emirates to visit Jerusalem.
President Reuven Rivlin made the invitation on Twitter on Thursday, within hours of the major announcement that Israel and the UAE were establishing full diplomatic ties.
Tel Aviv City Hall lit up with the flags of the United Arab Emirates and Israel the countries announced they would be establishing full diplomatic ties, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) (AP)
"I invite the crown prince to visit Jerusalem," he wrote, adding a greeting in Arabic.
The gesture comes as the UAE on Thursday became only the third Arab country to agree to have full ties with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.
President Donald Trump first announced the major development, saying the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.
The mayor of liberal Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, congratulated Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on the "double achievement" of peace with the UAE and shelving of plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
But not all have welcomed the agreement.
The Hamas militant group accused the United Arab Emirates of stabbing the Palestinians in the back by agreeing to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.
The reaction came shortly after President Donald Trump's tweet.
"This announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupation's crimes," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
"The normalisation is a stabbing in the back of our people."
The Islamic militant Hamas movement seeks Israel's destruction and has fought three wars and has fought three wars against Israel since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, followers of the Hasidic sect of Shomrei Emunim, wearing protective face masks amid concerns over the country's coronavirus outbreak, attend the funeral of their Rabbi Refael Aharon Roth, 72, who died from the virus, in Bnei Brak, Israel, on August 13, 2020. (AP)
'A truly history moment'
Following his tweet, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the agreement was "a truly historic moment".
"Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates," he said.
President Donald Trump is applauded after speaking in the Oval Office at the White House. (AP)
The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Mr Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.
Joe Biden has also called the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates "a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East."
The former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee issued a statement on Thursday, calling the agreement that the UAE publicly recognise Israel "a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship" and a "critical recognition that
Israel is a vibrant, integral part of the Middle East that is here to stay."
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces full diplomatic ties will be established with the United Arab Emirates, during a news conference on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020 in Jerusalem. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP) (AP)
For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged. Mr Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.
For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighbouring Gulf Arab states.
The Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residences (L) are seen from above. (Getty)
And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursday's deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalise relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.
A joint statement from the US, the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Mr Trump's tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
"Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations," said the statement by Mr Trump,
Mr Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.
A file photograph of Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev and Mohamed Bin Tha'loob Al Derai, President of UAE Wrestling Judo & Kickboxing Federation. (AP)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the deal.
"This is a remarkable achievement for two of the world's most forward leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region," he said in a statement.
"It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small — but strong — nations."
He added: "Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov."
Mr Netanyahu tweeted an Israeli flag with a short message in Hebrew: "Historic Day."
Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognised Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israel's war in Gaza at the time.
In addition to Mr Trump, the main US mediators for agreement were the president's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David
Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel.
The UAE is a US-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognise Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.
Families play on a public beach with the Burj al-Arab hotel behind them in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 29, 2020 (AP)
"Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood," the UAE's founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al
Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over US military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.
The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.
But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince
Mohammed also shares Israel's distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.
The UAE's state-run WAM news agency acknowledged the deal, framing it as not just a move that helps the UAE and Israel, but one that also carries benefits for the Palestinians.
It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to the US warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israel's planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would "upend" Israel's efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.
The agreement gives Mr Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israel's shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months. Mr Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.
Mr Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Mr Trump, ahead of US elections.
US President Donald Trump. (AP)
Still, by dropping the annexation plan Mr Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.
Mr Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Mr Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members — and the small, but influential settler movement — will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.
Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the
Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in the rapidly expanding West Bank settlements.
Next year, Israel will take part in the UAE's delayed Expo 2020, the world's fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.
Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still can't make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubai's gold and diamond trade as well.
Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/dona...stinians/1c402bdc-1f3a-4f12-b0c2-046fbd64b981
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