Abraham Accords

Abraham Accords, series of agreements to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab states. The accords, all of which were signed in the latter half of 2020, consist of a general declaration alongside bilateral agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. The name of the accords was given in reference to the supposed common ancestor of the Jews and the Arabs, the biblical Abraham, and as an expression of brotherhood.

Background and context

In protest against the partition of the British mandate of Palestine (see United Nations Resolution 181), Arab governments categorically refused to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel after its independence in 1948. A series of Arab-Israeli wars took place in the decades that followed, although the hostilities were largely confined to Israel and its immediate neighbours. After the trauma of the Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973), Egypt became the first Arab country to conclude a peace treaty with Israel, in 1979 (see Camp David Accords). Israel later agreed to a two-state solution with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993, and, as a result, Jordan concluded a peace agreement with Israel in 1994.

However, the two-state solution failed to materialize within the intended time frame. In 2002, as an added incentive to see out the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Arab League endorsed a Saudi proposal (known as the Arab Peace Initiative) for its member states to establish normal relations with Israel in exchange for an independent Palestinian state. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority soon dissipated, however, while the proliferation of Israeli settlements compounded the challenges of creating a viable state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the mutual interests of Israel and the Gulf Arab states grew. Their rapid economic development and technological innovation had already offered an economic incentive in the 20th century to build ties. But they also found common ground in the 21st century in security cooperation: the power vacuum caused by the toppling of Iraq’s Baʿath regime in 2003 allowed Iran—a longtime rival of the Gulf Arabs—to extend its reach in the region. Their interests also converged around suppressing Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, which posed a significant challenge to authoritarian regimes during the Arab Spring (2010–11) and were rhetorically hostile toward Israel. Within this context, Israel and several Arab states had already established and maintained clandestine relations to some degree.

Normalization agreements and impact

The Abraham Accords brought Israel’s relations with Arab countries out into the open and shifted the paradigm of the Arab-Israeli conflict. On the pretext of stopping Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank in July 2020, the United Arab Emirates engaged in negotiations to normalize relations. Sweetened with an offer from the United States to sell 50 F-35 combat jets to the United Arab Emirates, a deal was announced in August. The United Arab Emirates indicated that normalization would provide it with increased leverage to intervene on behalf of the Palestinians, but observers speculated that the deal would encourage the Arab states to set aside the Palestinian cause when it suited those states’ interests.

Another Gulf Arab state quickly followed suit. Just days before Israel and the United Arab Emirates were due to sign their agreement, a deal was announced between Israel and Bahrain to normalize relations, and the small island country joined representatives of the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and the United States on the White House lawn days later.

In the months that followed, the United States also procured agreements from Morocco and Sudan to normalize ties with Israel. In a joint declaration between Morocco, Israel, and the United States in December 2020, Morocco and Israel agreed to normalize relations and the United States also became the first country to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. That same month, the United States removed Sudan from its sanctions list against state sponsors of terrorism; in January 2021 Sudan signed the Abraham Accords Declaration. Negotiations over a bilateral agreement between Israel and Sudan remained underway for several years afterward.

In the years that followed the agreements, the signatories took on a series of trade deals and security cooperation arrangements. The most lucrative were those between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which conducted more than half a billion dollars in trade in the first year of normalized ties. A cultural exchange also took place as Israeli tourists flocked to the United Arab Emirates. Emiratis were not as keen to visit Israel, however, and public approval of the Abraham Accords plummeted in the years ahead as Israeli interventions in the West Bank reached their deadliest level in a generation.

Text of the Abraham Accords Declaration

Below is the text of the Abraham Accords Declaration, an overarching statement of principles that underpin the individual agreements between the parties:

We, the undersigned, recognize the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and around the world based on mutual understanding and coexistence, as well as respect for human dignity and freedom, including religious freedom.

We encourage efforts to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue to advance a culture of peace among the three Abrahamic religions and all humanity.

We believe that the best way to address challenges is through cooperation and dialogue and that developing friendly relations among States advances the interests of lasting peace in the Middle East and around the world.

We seek tolerance and respect for every person in order to make this world a place where all can enjoy a life of dignity and hope, no matter their race, faith or ethnicity.

We support science, art, medicine, and commerce to inspire humankind, maximize human potential and bring nations closer together.

We seek to end radicalization and conflict to provide all children a better future.

We pursue a vision of peace, security, and prosperity in the Middle East and around the world.

In this spirit, we warmly welcome and are encouraged by the progress already made in establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and its neighbors in the region under the principles of the Abraham Accords. We are encouraged by the ongoing efforts to consolidate and expand such friendly relations based on shared interests and a shared commitment to a better future.