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For the longest time after the Camp David Accords, relations between Israel and Egypt could only be described as “coldly correct,” each side exactingly adhering to the terms of that particular treaty. It took the Persian threat along with that posed by Al Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood, to move both Egypt and Israel from coldly correct to active, positive, nay enthusiastic (if covert) intelligence sharing and full cooperation. This brings us to the recently changed relationships between Israel and United Arab Emirates & Bahrain—and Saudi Arabia. //
You can easily imagine how difficult it is for the Royal Family to make open and notorious gestures towards a nation that many of their religion believe has no right to exist. This new set of diplomatic advances was accompanied by the Saudi government publicly allowing (and announcing that fact) direct flights starting or ending in Israel to overfly its territory. That is a far cry from clandestine meetings between the Saudi Intelligence Service Agents and Mossad Operatives. //
There was something different about Tuesday’s event. I was watching the faces…and also the body language…especially during the part where each party had to sign multiple copies of the treaty…one in English, one in Hebrew and one in Arabic (2nd ceremony had two in Arabic). Netanyahu was asked by his Arabic counterparts where to sign on the Hebrew version, while he in turn asked them the same on the Arabic one. The same thing occurred on President Trump’s end of the table, except he needed help from both an Israeli and an Arab.
I realize that I’m not a State Department Professional, but there was something different. The vibe I was getting was almost that of 4 or 5 guys who get together regularly for poker or golf. These leaders looked happy to be there, doing what they were doing and most importantly, doing it with others they wanted to be doing it with. I credit President Trump for this.
With the Camp David Accords, President Carter was the only one who was trusted by all sides, hence the long period of coldly correct relations. In fact, one of the Egyptian demands, was that every two years, the United States must conduct military exercises in Egypt as a deterrent to possible Israeli attack. Thus was born operation BRIGHT STAR. This agreement starts at a point decades further than Camp David. //
There is important reason these are called the Abraham Accords. Christians, Jews and Muslims are all descendants of Abraham. This breakthrough, if followed by a majority of the Arab League (especially Saudi Arabia) is a giant leap towards bringing about a lasting peace between Judeo-Christianity and the Arab world.