History Repeats Itself Across the Middle East on America’s Back

By Nora M El Houssini
National News Writer

On August 13th, 2020, the United States, led by President Trump, helped initiate the Abraham Accords, a peace treaty between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. The treaty outlines that the United Arab Emirates and Israel will cooperate and peacefully coexist in the fields of education, healthcare, energy, trade, and security. The countries will also be exchanging ambassadors, establishing embassies as well as opening direct flights.

Walking in the footsteps of President Carter in 1978, when he initiated the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, Trump was also able to walk in the pathway of establishing peace in the Middle East. This path has not been taken in over two decades and a half.

In 1947, the United Nations had divided territories and allocated select ones to Palestine and others to Israel. The Arab countries were not pleased with the recognition of Israel as a nation-state, hence the breaking out of a 3-decade long war between Israeli and an Arab coalition, including Egypt. Hooping to reinstate the Geneva conference, President Carter began working towards peace in the middle east, starting with Egypt. After several meetings between the three countries, President Anwar al Sadat Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords. The Accords served as an example of the possibility of peace in the region by the United States and the United States gaining an ally that could have potentially joined the communist side. Although it led to many economic benefits to Egypt, the signing of this treaty ultimately led to a lot of hatred and resentment from other Arab countries, especially Palestine. Eventually, it led to the killing of Sadat by an Egyptian Muslim extremist. However, more foreign nations supported this decision considering the unfruitful outcomes of staying at war with Israel and fighting for Palestine’s autonomy. Egypt’s economic and military state would not be able to push through more years of war.

After 25 years of no progress since the Jordanian peace treaty of 1994, Trump was able to regain track of Carter’s vision; he states, “ Our Vision is of one peace, security, and prosperity,” On August 13th when he announced the imitation of the treaty. This treaty is ultimately beneficial to the United States as it entails two allies collaborating openly while serving American interests, the presentation of a stronger united front in the case of war as well as a promise of a brighter future for peace within the middle east considering countries such as Saudi Arabia and Al Bahrain are predicted to follow in the footsteps of the U.A.E.
This treaty leads the U.A.E. to be in the United States’ good graces, after creating a bad impression in their recent war with Yemen. The agreement also helped the U.A.E. develop diplomatic security ties with Israel and gaining access to previously off-limits U.S. weaponry, including advanced drones. Egypt had also achieved a similar result within its treaty with Israel.

Netanyahu benefits majorly from this agreement as well. Israel gets to achieve successful relations with an Arab country and the potential for even more in the future, in exchange for a promise to not annex any land within the West Bank. This is a win-win situation, considering Israel never formally got permission from Trump to annex the land and would unlikely get permission from Biden if Biden happens to win the upcoming election.

Although the U.A.E. expressed its attempt to help Palestinians within the region, the U.A.E. received backlash back from Palestine for the agreement, even going as far as calling it a betrayal, similarly to what occurred in Egypt in 1978. Palestine relations with other Arab countries and Israeli and the U.S.A. seem to have been in a stalemate.

This treaty is an idyllic example of the United States yet again taking control over foreign relations issues and paving the road to peace.

Contact Nora at nora.elhoussini@student.shu.edu