WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has said that he will soon host a White House signing ceremony to formalise the peace deal between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel.

President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi agreed on Thursday to establish full diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the Emirates.

At an Oval Office news briefing on Thursday afternoon, Trump said the peace deal would “be known as the Abraham Accord,” which, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said, was named after “the father of all three great faiths,” Christian, Muslim, and Jewish.

“I look forward to hosting them at the White House very soon to formally sign the agreement. We’ll probably be doing it over the next, I would say, three weeks,” he said. “And they’ll be coming to Washington.”

Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton held similar ceremonies when Israel normalized relations with Egypt and Jordan.

President Trump indicated that other Arab and Muslims states may also sign similar deals with Israel soon.

“We have a lot of other interesting things going on with other nations, also having to do with peace agreements,” he said at the briefing. “And a lot of big news is coming over the next few weeks, and I’m sure you’ll be very impressed.”

Late Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also welcomed the deal but said it was the work of several administrations, not just Trump’s.

“I personally spent time with leaders of both Israel and the UAE during our administration” discussing a possible deal between the two states,” said Biden who was President Barack Obama’s vice president during both terms. “And I am gratified by this announcement,” he said in a statement.

Biden’s vice-presidential nominee, Senator Kamala Harris, said they would “seek to build on this progress” if elected in November.

US media reports on Friday speculated that the deal could bring “short-term political gains” for Trump who is seeking re-election in November. Some reports also said that it could help the Trump administration increase pressure on Iran, particularly if he’s re-elected.

Commentators appearing on various US television channels argued that Trump would now tout a foreign policy win less than three months before the presidential election.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2020