WASHINGTON: Benjamin Netanyahu arrived on Monday in Washington ahead of a signing ceremony for the UAE-Israel peace deal.
The Israeli prime minister will join UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed at the White House on Tuesday to ink the agreement, which was brokered by US President Donald Trump and announced last month.
Bahrain announced its own agreement with Israel on Friday and is also expected to attend the ceremony.
“On our way to bring peace in exchange for peace,” Netanyahu tweeted before departing from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, where Israeli, US, UAE and Bahraini flags adorned the aircraft’s entrance.
On Sunday, Netanyahu told cabinet ministers: “We now have two historic peace agreements with two Arab countries within one month. I am sure that we all praise this new age... I want to promise you that each and every one of you through your ministries will be a part of it, because this is going to be a different peace.
“It will be a warm peace, an economic peace in addition to a diplomatic peace; a peace between nations.”
Sheikh Abdullah arrived in the US capital a day earlier, heading a delegation of several senior Emirati officials and ministers, as well as the UAE’s permanent representative to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh.
The UAE deal to establish full relations included an Israeli promise not to annex occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank.
Bahrain will be the fourth Arab country to set up relations with Israel. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad is in the US and is expected to hold talks with Trump on Monday.
Egypt and Jordan already established relations with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively.
Oman, Sudan and Morocco welcomed Bahrain’s announcement, prompting Israeli media to report that they are among the next countries that the US is in talks with to follow suit.
The peace deals with the UAE and Bahrain have been widely opposed by Palestinian factions.
Netanyahu arrives in US for UAE-Israel peace signing ceremony
https://arab.news/p7p2m
Netanyahu arrives in US for UAE-Israel peace signing ceremony
- Netanyahu: ‘On our way to bring peace in exchange for peace’
- The signing ceremony will be at the White House on Tuesday
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
