Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Trump says ‘historic’ Israel-UAE deal on diplomatic ties will ‘suspend’ Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands

Trump says ‘historic’ Israel-UAE deal on diplomatic ties will ‘suspend’ Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands

Israel and the UAE have restored diplomatic ties after inking a deal with the US that will see Tel Aviv temporarily shelve its annexation of the West Bank and Jordan Valley to focus on improving relations with its neighbors.

At US President Donald Trump’s request, Israel has agreed to suspend its plans to officially engulf large areas of the Palestinian territories and instead focus on “expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world,” according to a joint statement released by the three countries on Thursday.

Trump announced the “HUGE breakthrough” on Thursday following a phone call with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the UAE’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.




Israel and the UAE will work together on developing a coronavirus vaccine, the statement continued, adding that the two nations would also work with the US to “launch a Strategic Agenda for the Middle East to expand diplomatic, trade and security cooperation.”



 
The move represents a surprising reversal of the Netanyahu government’s land-grabbing election rhetoric, which had set the international community on edge given the less-than-legal status of Israel’s occupation of the areas it planned to annex.

The UAE is the first Gulf nation to officially normalize relations with Israel, though Saudi Arabia has long been on cozy terms with the Jewish state.

Emirati and Israeli officials will meet in the near future to sign bilateral agreements on technology, investment, security, travel, energy, culture, healthcare, and the environment, among other issues, as well as to discuss establishing mutual embassies.

Trump told reporters the agreement will also give Muslims greater access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and hinted that “other nations - very powerful, very good nations” were planning to follow the UAE’s example.

The conversation with Netanyahu and bin Zayed “was like love,” Trump continued.

Netanyahu hailed the agreement, officially named the Abraham Accords, as a “historic day” and praised the arrival of a “peace that will stand in opposition to extremism.”

“For decades, Israel was rejected in the region, and now this has changed,” he said, adding that “there will be more Arab and Muslim countries that will enter into peace with us.” However, he made it clear annexation was only being put on ice temporarily.

"There is no change in my plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, with full coordination with the US."


Palestinian leaders, however, were not pleased. “Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it’s been doing to Palestine illegally and persistently since the beginning of the occupation,” Palestinian Liberation Organization Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi tweeted in response to the news, adding that the UAE had merely “come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×