Israel and UAE strike ’historic’ deal to normalise relations, announces Trump

Dubai: The United Arab Emirates on Thursday said an agreement with Israel to normalise relations was done to deal with the threat that further annexation of Palestinian territories posed to the two-state solution. The UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, urged the Palestinians and Israelis to return to the negotiating table.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday a US-brokered deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates represented a "historic day" for his country.

The agreement, announced by US President Donald Trump, broke new ground in Israel's outreach to Gulf Arab countries with a common fear of Iran's regional influence.

But Israel's agreement, according to White House officials, to suspend de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank posed a measure of political risk at home for Netanyahu, who had pledged to carry out the step.

"I will make a special announcement at 8 pm (1700 GMT) with more details about this historic day for the State of Israel," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.

His office had previously said he would hold a news conference at 1600 GMT.

A senior Israeli official said applying Israeli sovereignty to areas of the West Bank - territory Palestinians seek for a state along with Gaza and East Jerusalem - was still on the agenda.

But the official said: "The Trump administration asked us to temporarily suspend the (sovereignty) announcement so that the historic peace agreement with the UAE can be implemented."

The United Arab Emirates said Thursday that its deal to normalise relations with Israel was "a bold step" to secure a two-state solution to the long-running Israel-Palestinian conflict.

"Most countries will see this as a bold step to secure a two-state solution, allowing time for negotiations," the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told a press conference.

Asked when the two countries will open embassies, he said he did not want to speculate on the timeframe "but it is definitely not a long time".