Israel 101 What are the Abraham Accords?

The Abraham Accords are historic peace treaties, or normalization agreements, between Israel and several Muslim Arab nations including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

The first countries to sign were the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Sept. 15, 2020 in Washington D.C.

The Abraham Accords, first announced between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in August 2020, were brokered by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Within days of the announcement, the Kingdom of Bahrain joined as well.

Sudan announced its desire to normalize relations with Israel in October while Morocco did the same in December, amounting to four Israeli-Arab peace accords within four months.

While some of these countries have never technically been at war with Israel, they have generally had frigid relations, boycotted Israel and voted against the Jewish state at the United Nations.

With the normalization agreements, the countries are free to pursue trade, tourism and business partnerships. In December alone, 130,000 Israelis traveled to the UAE for the first time before Israel curtailed air travel. But the short-lived surge in travel served to underscore the potential of tourism between Israel and these Arab countries when it is renewed.

Why are these agreements called the “Abraham Accords?” Abraham is the father of both Judaism and Islam, the father of both Isaac and Ishmael. In the Book of Genesis, God promised Abraham that he would make him into a great nation and give him land and countless descendants.

That these Arab countries wanted peace with Israel represents a softening of Muslims’ attitudes toward Israel and Judaism in favor of strategic business agreements.

The impact and implications of the treaties are something we continue to track at ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS.