Raab visits Middle East: UK helps consolidate principles of UAE-Israeli peace agreement

Reactions continue regarding the tripartite agreement signed on August 13 between the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the United States within the framework of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to promote peace in the Middle East. This was clearly evident in its assertion prior to the signing of the necessity of stopping Israel’s annexation of the Palestinian territories. London considered this an “important moment” for the region, calling for the necessity to resume peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

British endeavors

In statements on August 24, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab indicated that the announcement of the peace agreement between the UAE and Israel is an important moment for peace in the Middle East, adding that he will visit the region this week to seek to resume peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He will hold a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas regarding this matter.

Raab emphasized that stopping Israel’s annexation of Palestinian lands is an essential step towards strengthening peace in the Middle East, calling for building on this new dynamic to achieve peace.

On July 22, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN Jonathan Allen s said that his country’s position on the peace process in the Middle East seeks to reach a negotiation that allows Israel to live in safety and security alongside a functioning Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with an agreement on a land swap.

After the signing of the UAEi-Israeli agreement, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that the agreement is a good thing, pointing out that stopping the annexation of Palestinian lands is an important step on the road to make the Middle East more peaceful.

Iran and the Brotherhood

The announcement of the British foreign secretary’s tour to the Middle East came after British analysts called on the UK to seize the opportunity of the UAE-Israeli agreement in order to block the path of the radical Islamist trend, represented by the Brotherhood, from spreading in Britain. Among those who called for this was British writer and political analyst Ed Husain, who, in an article in the British magazine The Spectator on August 20, criticized Britain’s absence from the ongoing movement in the Middle East with regard to Arab-Israeli relations.

Husain affirmed that the UAE-Israeli agreement means the formation of a “new world”, and that there are more peace agreements to come in the Middle East, which will lead to the conclusion of trade understandings and security alliances. He called on Britain to play a role in this matter with its three allies – the United States, Israel, and UAE – to shape a new future in the region by paying attention to how the changing Middle East affects the interests of the United Kingdom and its allies.

The British writer stressed that the peace agreement indicates that the Arabs are seeking to form new alliances with Israel to confront the actions and threats of Iran and its proxies in the Middle East and their threat to security and stability in the region, as well as confronting the forces of radical Islamism by preventing religious groups from exploiting the Palestinian cause to achieve their extremist goals, noting that the UK’s role is to prohibit the financial and political operations of Hamas and the Brotherhood in Britain.