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Trump announces ‘Historic Peace Agreement’ between Israel, UAE

Brooke Singman | Fox News — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 19:46:40 +0000

United Arab Emirates and Israel agree to ‘full normalization’ of diplomatic relations, Trump announces.

President Trump on Thursday announced what he called a “Historic Peace Agreement” between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, saying they agreed to “full normalization of relations.”

“HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!” Trump tweeted Thursday morning.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!

The president, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed released a joint statement Thursday after the three spoke “and agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.” The statement said that the “diplomatic breakthrough” was at “the request of President Trump,” and that Israel will “suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.”

Israel and the UAE also said they will continue their efforts to “achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region,” the statement read. “All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from today’s historic achievement.”

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

Joint Statement of the United States, the State of Israel, and the United Arab Emirates

Delegations from Israel and the UAE are expected to meet in the coming weeks to “sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit.” “Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East’s most dynamic societies and advanced economies will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations,” the statement also read.

Trump on Thursday said he had a call with Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The president told reporters Israel and the UAE will “begin cooperation across the board,” along with exchanging embassies and ambassadors. The president said he expected other countries to follow the UAE’s lead on this effort to cooperate with Israel going forward.

The president said the action would be known as the “Abraham Accord,” named for the “father of all three great faiths.”

“No person better symbolizes the potential for unity of these three great faiths,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said from the Oval Office Thursday.

The president went on to joke that he “wanted to call it the Donald J. Trump accord,” which received laughs in the room.

“I didn’t do that,” Trump added, again touting the historic importance of the agreement.

“We are already discussing this with other nations,” Trump said. “So, you will probably see others of these.”

The president went on to cheer his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner for his efforts in securing the agreement.

“The president, like with all things, urged us to take an untraditional approach,” Kushner said Thursday. “You can’t solve problems that have gone unsolved the way people have done before you and failed.”

Kushner said the president “tries to unite people focusing on common interest as opposed to common grievances.”

“We were able to achieve results others could not achieve,” Kushner said. “This will advance the region and advance the world.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer tweeted shortly after the agreement was announced saying: “A great day for peace! Israel commends the courage of MBZ for the historic decision of the UAE to join Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in making peace with Israel. Israel deeply appreciates all. @POTUS Trump has done to make this breakthrough possible. More to come!”

Amb. Ron Dermer@AmbDermer

A great day for peace! Israel commends the courage of MBZ for the historic decision of the UAE to join Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in making peace with Israel. Israel deeply appreciates all @POTUS Trump has done to make this breakthrough possible. More to come!

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo touted the “vigorous diplomatic outreach” by the president, Israel, and the UAE.

Secretary Pompeo@SecPompeo

Today is an historic day. After vigorous diplomatic outreach by President @realDonaldTrump, Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed have signed an agreement to fully normalize relations between their two great nations.

“The United States congratulates Israel and the Emirates for this remarkable achievement, which is a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East. Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov,” Pompeo tweeted.

Secretary Pompeo@SecPompeo

Today is a historic day. After vigorous diplomatic outreach by President @realDonaldTrump, Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed have signed an agreement to fully normalize relations between their two great nations.

Secretary Pompeo@SecPompeo

The United States congratulates Israel and the Emirates for this remarkable achievement, which is a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East. Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Brooke Singman is a Politics Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSingman.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-israel-uae-peace-agreement

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The post Trump announces ‘Historic Peace Agreement’ between Israel, UAE first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

US envoy to Israel: Evangelical Christians firmer Israel backers than many Jews

Times of Israel — Sat, 19 May 2018 04:46:55 +0000

As David Friedman hails their ‘fervor and devotion’ in NY Times interview, his counterpart Ron Dermer calls devout Christians the ‘backbone’ of US support for Israel.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Pastor John Hagee, May 11, 2018. (CUFI)

The US Ambassador to Israel said evangelical Christians are more passionate supporters of Israel than many Jews.

Speaking to the New York Times about the prominent involvement of Christian supporters of Israel at the Monday inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, over which he presided, Friedman said evangelical Christians “support Israel with much greater fervor and devotion than many in the Jewish community.”

He backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alliances with leaders of the evangelical community by stressing, “You’re running a country, you need friends, you need alliances, you need to protect your people.”

Friedman acknowledged that he personally invited John Hagee, who gave the closing benediction at the event, and pastor Robert Jeffress, who gave the opening address.

In the article published Saturday, Friedman called them “two of the most followed leaders of the evangelical community,” and said he “wanted to honor the community for having been so constructive in helping to move this along.”

In his address Monday, Jeffress praised “the tremendous leadership of our great president, Donald J. Trump,” and also invoked the “prince of peace, Jesus our lord.”

A Southern Baptist who vigorously supported Trump during the final months of the 2016 presidential campaign and was a member of his evangelical advisory board, Jeffress once warned that Jewish people are going to hell and said Hitler was part of God’s plan to return Jews to Israel. Criticism of his selection to speak at the ceremony was led by former president candidate Mitt Romney, who called Jeffress a “religious bigot.”

Pastor John Hagee, head of Christians United for Israel, at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem’s Old City on May 11, 2018. (courtesy CUFI)

Echoing some of his counterpart’s praise for the evangelical Christian community, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States told the paper that “devout Christians” had become the “backbone” of US support for Israel. “It’s got to be a solid quarter of the population, and that is maybe 10, 15, 20 times the Jewish population,” Dermer said.

He insisted, nonetheless, that the Israeli government was determined to maintain wide, bipartisan US and US Jewish support for Israel. “You could say there’s a shift here or there, but obviously for us, it’s important that we have strong support that’s very broad and bipartisan,” Dermer said. “You can’t fly a plane with one wing.”

Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting in the Israeli parliament on April 30, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party and a key opposition rival of Netanyahu, warned on Thursday that Netanyahu was “dangerously” aligning his government with conservative, evangelical factions of the Republican Party, and furthering the divide with Democrats.

“The fact that the government completely identifies with the conservative, evangelical faction of the Republican Party is dangerous,” Lapid said.

He added that if there were a Democratic US president and Congress in 2020, it would spell a “serious problem” for Israel if Netanyahu were to remain in power.

Lapid said Jewish Democratic lawmaker Ted Deutch told him he was blackballed from attending the US embassy inauguration in Jerusalem on Monday. No Democratic lawmakers were known to be present at the event.

The New York Times piece, headlined “Israel and Evangelicals: New US Embassy Signals a Growing Alliance,” said the dedication of the embassy marked “the most public recognition yet of the growing importance the Netanyahu government now assigns to its conservative Christian allies, even if some have been accused of making anti-Semitic statements.”

It said this represented “a historic and strategic shift, relying on the much larger base of evangelical Christians, even at the risk of turning off American Jews who may be troubled by some evangelicals’ denigration of their faith.”

“The paradox is well known,” the paper observed. “The beliefs of many evangelical Christians that Israel is special to God — and, for some, a marker in apocalyptic prophecies — lead many to hawkish support of the Jewish state while they simultaneously insist that salvation awaits only those who accept Jesus as their savior.

As a consequence of the increasingly warm ties between the Israeli right and the Christian right a “polarization” is accelerating — “turning support for Israel into a partisan question in Washington.”

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-envoy-to-israel-evangelical-christians-firmer-israel-backers-than-many-jews/

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