Abraham Accords: Two years on, Israel's ties with Arab states firming up

Abraham Accords, signed two years ago, have marked the start of a positive relationship between Israel and Arab countries.

Two years have passed since the United States-brokered Abraham Accords were signed paving the way for the normalisation of Israel's ties with several Arab states. Are the Accords well on the track?

Observers say the Accords led to the establishment of Israel's diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in September 2020. Sudan and Morocco joined the Accords in October and December respectively the same year. Israel's ties with Arab states have been firming up.

Today there are direct flights between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. There is a sea change in the UAE's approach towards the Jewish State. Recently, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Yad Vashem and laid a wreath at its Hall of Remembrance. He wrote in the guestbook that the great responsibility upon us was "to act with tolerance for building our community and society."

Bahrain today insists it was never at war with Israel. It wants to work closely with Israel (and the US) to build a multi-tiered missile defence system to defend the kingdom - and their regional Arab allies - against the threat an increasingly hostile and aggressive Shiite Iranian regime poses to them.

Bahrain has signed a defence agreement with Israel. As per this new relationship, an Israeli Defence Force officer can work alongside Bahrainis (and Americans) at the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

Security cooperation between Sudan and Israel has helped the former uncover the presence of terrorist groups in the country. Head of Sudan's Sovereign Council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stresses the importance of Israel for the security of Sudan. Last October's military coup in Khartoum has not affected its security ties with Jerusalem . Unlike most of the Western states, Israel has not condemned the coup.

Reports are that in January this year, an Israeli delegation arrived in Khartoum to hold talks with General Burhan and other military leaders. In February, a top official of the Sudanese military government arrived in Israel on an unannounced visit.

In February this year, Israel and Morocco indicated to expand their bilateral trade, from about $131 million annually today, to more than $500 million annually. In July, chief of staff of the Israeli Defence Forces Lt.-General Aviv Kochavi visited Rabat to discuss strengthening defence ties between the two nations. Currently, Belkhir El Farouk, a top general in the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, is in Israel to meet Kochavi and attend a multi-national defence conference.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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