Israel-UAE accord set for signing in US next week

Israel and the United Arab Emirates will sign a US-brokered agreement normalising their relations at the White House on September 15, a US official has said.

"President Trump will host a historic signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on September 15 at the White House," a senior White House official said on Tuesday.

Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed will lead their delegation, the official added.

Senior delegations from both countries will be present, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "likely" to lead the contingent from the Jewish state, the official said.

"I am proud to embark next week to Washington, at the invitation of President Trump, to take part in this historic ceremony at the White House for the foundation of the peace treaty between Israel and the United (Arab) Emirates," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.

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Controversial deal

It is Israel's first such agreement with a Gulf nation and only its third with an Arab state, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Jewish state and US allies in the Middle East, including the oil-rich Gulf monarchies, is central to US President Donald Trump's regional strategy to contain Iran, also an arch-foe of Israel.

The landmark deal between Israel and the UAE was reached last month –– a bombshell announced by Trump himself.

The United Arab Emirates is planning to make its first official visit to Israel on September 22, a source familiar with the provisional itinerary said on Monday.

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'Stab in the back'

Under the deal, Israel has agreed to "suspend" annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, without saying for how long.

The Palestinian leadership initially called the accord "betrayal" and a "stab in the back of the Palestinian cause," but has curbed its criticism, according to a draft resolution ahead of an Arab League meeting in Cairo on Wednesday.

The draft, seen by Reuters news agency, does not include a call to condemn or act against, the Emirates over the US-brokered deal.

The Palestinian Authority said any deal with Israel should be based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative on the principle of "land for peace" and not "peace for peace" as Israel claims.

Washington has expressed hope that more Arab countries will build ties with Israel, as a way of building stability in the turbulent Middle East.

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