Donald Trump announced on Thursday a "historic peace agreement" between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This rapprochement, the result of tripartite negotiations, divides on the international scene but also at the regional level. The cards may well be reshuffled in the Middle East. France 24 takes stock.
The agreement announced Thursday, August 13, between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has been hailed as the start of a "new era" by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Emirates become the third country to normalize its relations with the Hebrew state after Egypt (with the Camp David accords in 1978) and Jordan (in 1994).
An announcement variously received by the international community. Europe welcomes this agreement, especially France and the United Kingdom. On the contrary, the Palestinian Authority sees it as "a betrayal of Jerusalem and of the Palestinian cause", as do Turkey and Iran.
Complete normalization of relations
The joint statement from the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates speaks of a "complete normalization of relations" between the Hebrew state and the Emirates.
It is also specified that "delegations (from both countries) will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technologies, energy, health, culture, environment, establishment of reciprocal embassies or other fields (presenting) mutual benefits ".
"This agreement testifies to a new state of mind at the regional level", explains David Rigoulet-Roze, teacher and researcher at the French Institute of Strategic Analysis (IFAS) and editor-in-chief of the journal Orients Stratégiques (L ' Harmattan), contacted by France 24. "It is the concretization of links, of more or less discreet relations in recent years, but more and more deepened between Israel and the petromonarchies, whether there with the United Arab Emirates, or with Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. "
"Low-key" relations between Israel and the Emirates before the deal
While this agreement may seem surprising, especially given the positions of Israel and the Emirates on the Palestinian cause, the two countries have been working behind the scenes to bring them closer together. "It was a quiet diplomacy job, because we did not see this normalization agreement between the two countries coming," said Armelle Charrier, international columnist at France 24.
But this work has not been started recently, as David Rigoulet-Roze explains: "Discreet relations have been forged in recent years with the petromonarchies in general and the United Arab Emirates in particular, particularly in the face of what is perceived like an Iranian threat. "
A low-key relationship that the Emirates have, however, made increasingly visible in their rapprochement with Israel. “At the end of 2018, two Israeli ministers - Ayoub Kara, Minister of Telecommunications and Miri Regev, Minister of Culture and Sports - made a trip to Abu Dhabi which, beyond their scope of competence, obviously had a political dimension. this is added on May 20, the first direct flight of the Emirati company Etihad from Abu Dhabi to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, intended to provide medical aid to Palestinians in the context of the Covid pandemic ", specifies the teacher-researcher at IFAS. "It is the skill of Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, who wants this rapprochement with Israel without being accused of abandoning the Palestinian cause and who tries to show the maintenance to this cause, even if concretely there are underlying contradictions. This theft was to show that the petromonarchy did not forget the Palestinians even if there was otherwise the deepening relations with Israel. "
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