White House announces Israel-UAE peace treaty signing ceremony to be held Sept. 15, confirming ALL ISRAEL NEWS exclusive
JERUSALEM -- It is happening.
One week from today -- on Tuesday, Sept. 15th -- President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, at the White House.
The leaders will sign the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty -- known as "The Abraham Accord" -- in more than a quarter of a century.
ALL ISRAEL NEWS broke the story Monday, quoting Israeli Minister for Regional Cooperation Ofir Akunis.
“We are talking these days about a real new Middle East,” Akunis told me in his Knesset office. “The peace treaty with the Emirates that the prime minister is supposed to sign next week in Washington — this is a huge opportunity to build a real New Middle East — not…what we talked about in the 1990s with Shimon Peres and the Oslo Agreements. We’re talking about a peace treaty with the Emirates. And I think that we have here a huge opportunity to establish a real regional economic cooperation with the Emirates and with others. I want the Jordanians to be a part, the Egyptians, Cyprus and others.”
Akunis noted to me that Rosh Hashanah -- the Jewish New Year -- begins at sundown on Friday, Sept. 18.
The prime minister needs to be back in Jerusalem ahead of that.
UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the Foreign Minister's older brother, will not be attending.
The UAE Foreign Minister is the younger brother of the Crown Prince.
The agreement was first announced publicly on Aug. 13.
Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.