1. Too much running and taking press calls today, not much time for tweeting. But a few thoughts on the Israel-UAE-Bahrain signing ceremony at the White House today.

2. Getting Israeli & Arab leaders to sit together as neighbors with normal relations has been a long term strategic objective of the US. May others join this trend, & may these agreements foster peace between peoples, with economic, cultural, technological cooperation & exchange.

3. President Trump and his team get their share of credit, as any sitting admin would. They got a huge assist from the UAE, which provided an off-ramp for the terrible Trump-endorsed idea of Israeli annexation of the West Bank, when it said: normalization or annexation, not both.

4. Fortunately, Israel and the US made the right choice. In addition to opening new official ties with Arab states, burying annexation helps keep the two-state solution alive. Palestinians may be unhappy today. But there are possibilities toward a better future for them.

5. Trump's plan, which doesn't describe a real 2SS, should be shelved, & these new ties used as a basis for renewed momentum toward two states. US, Israel, Pals, Arab states all have roles to play. @davidmakovsky & I explain what that would look like here. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/09/heres-how-palestinians-could-benefit-diplomatic-deal-between-israel-united-arab-emirates/

6. The F-35 deal lurks in the background. Trump will try to jam it through before the election. None of the necessary consultations on ensuring Israel's qualitative military edge (QME) have taken place, or can in just a few weeks, so that process will play catch-up for months.

7. Trump hopes to derive benefits in the election from today's deal, as any incumbent would. But I don't see much flowing his way. As positive as these agreements are, Americans are focused on a lot of other things in this election: COVID, economy, racial justice, corruption.

8. And of course, Trump sought to politicize what should be a bipartisan celebration of a consensus issue. While some Democratic Members of Congress were invited to the ceremony, Trump made two classless references to "Sleepy Joe" with Netanyahu sitting next to him in the Oval.

9. Anyone who cares about bipartisan support for Israel and peacemaking would leave the politics for another day. Since he doesn't, he's happy to put an ally in that ridiculous position with our likely next president.

10. So bottom line is: very good news on normalization; hope it continues; it can/should be the basis for renewal of 2SS efforts; Trump, as usual, takes any positive &grossly politicizes it.  @JoeBiden will carry this ball forward for US interests, Isr, Pals, &Arab partners. End.