Israel to sign ‘peace treaty’ with UAE, but ‘peace declaration’ with Bahrain

An official from the Israeli delegation in Washington says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be signing a “peace treaty” with the UAE at Tuesday’s White House ceremony.

Netanyahu will sign a separate “declaration of peace” with Bahrain, which only announced on Friday that it would also normalize relations with Israel, the official says in a briefing with reporters accompanying Netanyahu in Washington.

The official refuses to divulge details about whether the agreements will include Israeli commitments regarding the Palestinian issue.

“There’s a lot of sensitivity because we’re talking about four players here, and as such, the details will not be released beforehand,” says the official.

Despite the fact that Israeli officials have insisted on calling the UAE agreement a “peace treaty,” the official admits that “the difference between this agreement and the ones with Jordan or Egypt is that it does not end a state of war.”

Israeli officials have repeatedly refused to say what is contained in either agreement. The agreement with the UAE will still need to be okayed by the cabinet and possibly the Knesset as well, Netanyahu’s office said earlier.

A spokesperson from his office also mocked Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz for claiming that the agreements include a stipulation for a settlement freeze.

— Jacob Magid