Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Negotiations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates mediated by the United States, which ended with the conclusion of an agreement on the complete normalization of relations on 13 August 2020, became a breakthrough step capable of making serious adjustments to the system of Arab-Jewish relations.

I. The text of the joint statement of Israel, the UAE and the United States on the signing of the deal was published on Twitter by President Donald Trump. It reads: "This move will contribute to the consolidation of peace in the Middle East and is a testament to the foresight of the three leaders in planning a new path that will unlock enormous potential in the region."

US President Donald Trump himself called the agreements reached "historic". According to him, the delegations of Israel and the UAE will soon hold a meeting to sign agreements on investments, tourism, direct flights, as well as agree on the issue of the mutual opening of embassies.

Commenting on the conclusion of the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister B. Netanyahu announced the beginning of a new era in Tel Aviv’s relations with the Arab world. At the same time, he stressed that, unlike the two previous peace treaties with the Arab countries (Egypt and Jordan), this time the negotiations were conducted according to the formula peace in exchange for peace, and not peace in exchange for territory.

According to him, this is due to the fact that, at the request of D. Trump, Tel Aviv has undertaken to postpone the process of extending the country’s sovereignty to the Palestinian lands.

At the same time, the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed the preparation of a "historical pact" with all Arab countries and noted that "from now on, Muslims can visit Jerusalem and pray in sacred places," as this point is enshrined in the document.

In turn, Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates M. al-Nahyan stated that the agreement is aimed at overcoming the common challenges facing the Middle East.

At the same time, according to the head of the UAE Foreign Ministry A. Gargash, the stability of the peace agreement will depend on the nature of Israel’s relations with Palestine. In this vein, he called the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian contradictions the main condition for the opening of the UAE Embassy in Israel.

II. The signing of the treaty was positively assessed by most of the world’s states.

UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed hope that the agreement will advance the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the creation of two states. According to him, "annexation would close the door for a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the incident "good news." According to him, the agreement is a long-awaited step towards a peaceful Middle East. " The authorities of France and Germany made similar statements.

US presidential candidate J. Biden also welcomed the treaty and expressed the hope that it will become the basis for overcoming differences in the Middle East.

Egyptian President A. al-Sisi called the agreement a step towards stabilization and prosperity of the region. A number of Arab countries of the Persian Gulf (Jordan, Bahrain, Oman) also commended the deal. KSA refrained from any comments.

In the meantime, the agreement was received ambiguously by Palestine and a number of regional players. Palestine called the deal "a betrayal of the Palestinian people" and called on the UAE to immediately withdraw its agreement to the treaty.

The Palestinian movement Hamas adhered to a similar position. According to the group, "by making a deal with the United States and Israel, the UAE stabbed the Palestinians in the back, as this agreement will not help the Palestinian cause."

Iranian media called the deal "shameful", while Iranian officials described it as "an act of strategic stupidity."

Turkey came out with criticism, stating through the Foreign Ministry that "history will not forget and will never forgive this hypocritical act of the UAE, since the deal ignores the will of the people of Palestine."

III. The conclusion of the peace treaty attracted the attention of both international observers and expert circles.

According to The Washington Post, the agreements reached make the UAE the third country in the Arab world and the first country in the Persian Gulf to agree to establish diplomatic and economic relations with the Jewish side. In 1979, Egypt signed a peace treaty with the republic, and in 1994 - Jordan.

The Foreign Policy publication called the deal only a formalization of previously established political contacts, since in recent years, information about Israel’s rapprochement with the UAE and other Arab countries of the Gulf has repeatedly appeared in the world media.

According to AlJazeera observers, a common interest in countering the growing influence of Iran and Turkey in the Middle East region was a factor that contributed to overcoming differences between them.

Taking this into account, today the Arab states of the Gulf see the benefit in the normalization of relations with Israel, and the "Palestinian issue" to a certain extent has receded into the background.

At the same time, the Tagesschau publication calls the head of the White House the main beneficiary of the deal, which is trying to "earn important political points" inside the country due to breakthrough changes in the Middle East against the background of a serious decrease in his chances of re-election.

Emphasizing this fact, the Guardian notes that Trump won a "rare diplomatic victory" on the eve of the elections, as his efforts to "establish peace" between Israel and the Palestinians did not advance for a long time.

According to the BBC, for the Israeli prime minister, who is also in a difficult position, "this is a chance to get out of the trap into which he drove himself", as his "solemn" promise to annex part of the occupied West Bank proved to be impracticable. Proceeding from this, B. Netanyahu probably views this "peace initiative" with the UAE as an opportunity to restore his rating.

In turn, according to Stratfor, due to the promises received by the Israeli authorities to postpone the issue of the annexation of the Palestinian lands for an indefinite period, the UAE is trying to position itself as a "savior of the Palestinian people" and strengthen its position in the Arab world.

It is no coincidence that, commenting on the agreements reached with Israel, the UAE Foreign Minister noted that "the Emirates dismantled a time bomb that threatened the decision on the coexistence of two states."

In general, the Israeli-Emirates peace treaty may become a prerequisite for certain qualitative shifts in the Middle East, implying the withdrawal of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf from confrontational methods of resolving the Palestinian problem. At the same time, in political terms, the "beneficiaries" of the deal will be all parties to the agreement (UAE, USA and Israel), which actively promote this achievement as a result of their own diplomatic success.