New Israeli government expects to sign peace agreement with Saudis within a year, ambassador says

Israel’s former United Nations ambassador, now a member of the incoming coalition, said that the new government will expand the Abraham Accords and sign a peace treaty with Saudi Arabia soon.

“I expect we’ll see an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia this year,” said Ambassador Danny Danon speaking at the First Annual Abraham Accords Global Leadership Summit which was held in Rome.

Danon is a member of Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.

“I bring good news from Jerusalem. The new Israeli government‘s first priority will be to increase signatories to the Abraham Accords. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s first state visit will be to Abu Dhabi, and we hope that Riyadh will follow,” Danon continued.

Just a few months after the September 2020 signing of the Accords, then-prime minister Netanyahu snubbed the UAE by cancelling planned trips to Abu Dhabi on three separate occasions due to domestic and COVID-related issues.

This enabled Naftali Bennett to become Israel's first prime minister to ever visit the UAE. No new peace accords were signed during his one-year term, however.

Expanding the circle of Arab nations willing to make peace with Israel is expected to be a priority of the new Netanyahu government.

“The Abraham Accords were not built in a day. The hardest part was going public. We have been in contact with the Saudis for years. I worked personally with them at the United Nations on matters of regional stability and security,” Danon continued. “It’s just a matter of time before courageous leaders step out of the shadows and full peace is achieved between all the children of Abraham. I expect we’ll see an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia this year.”

Some 30 nations were represented at the Rome event which focused “on ways to increase peace and tolerance in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” according to a statement.

Other attendees at the summit included Former Bahraini Ambassador to the United States Houda Nonoo; Vice President of The Global Imams Council Imam Mohammad Tawhidi; Former Prime Minister of Slovenia Alojz Peterle; UK Abraham Accords Group Lord Stuart Polak; Republic of South Sudan U.N. Ambassador Bona Malwal and others.