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White House to hold official signing ceremony for UAE-Israel ‘Abraham Accord’

It will mark the first public meeting between an Israeli prime minister and an Emirati minister.

U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by White House senior advisers, delivers a statement announcing the agreement of full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 13, 2020. Credit: Joyce N. Boghosian/The White House.
U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by White House senior advisers, delivers a statement announcing the agreement of full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 13, 2020. Credit: Joyce N. Boghosian/The White House.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates are scheduled to formally sign the Aug. 13 normalization agreement—named the “Abraham Accord”—at the White House on Sept. 15, a senior White House official told JNS.

U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the ceremony. A senior Israeli delegation will be led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while a senior Emirati delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed.

It will mark the first public meeting between an Israeli prime minister and an Emirati minister, and the first White House peace-accord signing since the one between Israel and Jordan in 1994.

“I am proud to leave for Washington next week at the invitation of President Trump and to participate in the historic ceremony at the White House on the establishment of a peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” said Netanyahu in a statement released by his office.

The upcoming signing would follow the U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and the UAE to normalize diplomatic relations. Under the deal, Israel has agreed to suspend applying sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria.

Israeli and Emirati delegations have been meeting to work on bilateral agreements on security, technology, health care, culture, energy and the environment. Flights, telecommunications, banking and finance between Israel and the UAE are already underway.

Additionally, Israel and the UAE agreed to accelerate the development and treatment of a vaccine for COVID-19.

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