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One analyst called #UAEIsrael deal “seismic shift.” Another said “inevitable.” But UAE only 3rd country to normalize with Israel. They& #39;ve been growing increasingly close for years, unified over shared Iranian enemy. But if cooperation was mostly under table, now there& #39;s no table
As senior US official put it: "Just because it might not be a big surprise, doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal." Especially if it& #39;s a "domino effect," says Israeli official. “Substantive talks” have already taken place to try and make Bahrain, Oman next, senior Admin official says
When @JudyWoodruff asked about possibility other countries normalizing before September UAE/Israel signing ceremony, @robertcobrien said, "I don& #39;t know if they will be here for the signing," but repeated hope today was just the beginning. Morocco is also a possibility, I& #39;m told.
On annexation, months ago, Israel/UAE/US making progress on normalization. And then @UAEEmbassyUS Otaiba wrote op-ed in Hebrew warning against annexation. After that, US team told Netanyahu, "We’re making headway. Don’t create headwinds," says senior Administration official.
Normalization also provided off-ramp to Netanyahu over annexation. US& #39; annexation stoplight had already been blinking yellow. @netanyahu was complaining about attacks from the right. Otaiba& #39;s op-ed helped provide a solution: normalize and suspend annexation simultaneously.
Today, each country used different language. Kushner said annexation "suspended." @netanyahu said Israel would "wait temporarily." @USAmbIsrael once again closer to Bibi than Kushner, said sovereignty "not off the table." @MohamedBinZayed said agreement was to "stop" annexation
. @robertcobrien to @JudyWoodruff went further, reflecting UAE& #39;s understanding: "We wouldn& #39;t refer to it as temporary. We would say it& #39;s a suspension." "We don& #39;t think Israelis are going to, are going to extend sovereignty at this point"...
And more @robertcobrien to @JudyWoodruff: "Unless the US gave the Israelis the green light to extend sovereignty, [and] I don& #39;t think that& #39;s going to happen."
Israeli, UAE, US officials say first steps will be bilateral deals on trade, technology, business; Emirati investment into Israeli COVID research; direct flights; embassies. No announcement yet on which Israeli city will host UAE& #39;s embassy.
For Palestinians, there was already no love lost between Abu Mazen, @MohamedBinZayed. But this is exactly what Palestinians feared: Arab country normalizing with Israel despite policies they opposed: US moving embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Golan annexation, defunding @UNRWA
Israeli officials say they hope this pushes Palestinians to feel isolated, make a deal. But main sentiment among Palestinians expressed by @DrHananAshrawi: "May you never be sold out by your quote & #39;friends.& #39;" Our @newshour coverage of a historic day: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/will-israel-uae-deal-represent-a-seismic-shift-in-the-middle-east">https://www.pbs.org/newshour/...
Full @robertcobrien interview with @JudyWoodruff: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/national-security-adviser-robert-obrien-on-very-courageous-deal-between-israel-and-uae">https://www.pbs.org/newshour/...
