Why Trump's Abraham Accords Have Not Meant Mideast Peace
In his letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Mr. Netanyahu called the 2020 accords, brokered by Mr. Trump, 'breakthroughs' that had 'reshaped the Middle East,' making a 'historic advance toward peace, security and regional stability.'
The Middle East did not appear to be aware of any such advance.
Even as Mr. Netanyahu met in Washington last week with Mr. Trump and other American officials, the Israeli military continued its devastating bombing of the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen attacked two cargo ships in the Red Sea and a brutal civil war continued to rage in Sudan. Weeks earlier, Israel and the United States were bombing Iran, which was firing missiles in return. And Israeli forces remain on the ground in both Lebanon and Syria, in the aftermath of wars that ended just months ago.
During the nearly five years since the Abraham Accords were signed, Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu and other American and Israeli officials have repeatedly referred to the agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain as a 'peace deal.'
Scholars who study the region say that is merely a turn of phrase, belying the fact that there has never been a war — or any violence at all — between Israel and the U.A.E. or Bahrain. Morocco has also largely stayed out of the Arab-Israeli conflicts, aside from sending a token force to the 1973 war, more than 50 years ago.
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