Israel sees signing ceremony on UAE deal in mid-September
An Israeli minister says the regime expects holding a signing ceremony in Washington for a recently-reached normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates by the middle of next month.
According to Press TV, Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis said on Sunday that the date for the ceremony could be decided by senior aides to Zionist regime's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump when they fly to Abu Dhabi on Monday for talks.
“This (normalization) agreement is expected to be signed in the month of September in the city of Washington,” he told the Israeli Kan broadcaster. “That is meant to be one of the outcomes of the talks in the next 24 hours in the Emirates - setting a date for the signing.”
The US and Israeli delegations are due to travel together to the UAE capital on an El Al Israel Airlines plane, Israel’s first direct flight between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi.
Akunis said that the Netanyahu regime hopes the signing ceremony will take place “before our Rosh Hashanah” or Jewish new year, which is on September 18.
Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and other US officials are due in the Occupied Territories on Sunday to prepare for the UAE mission.
Kushner is expected to tour West Asia in a bid to convince multiple Arab leaders to attend the ceremony meant to formalize the UAE-Israel deal at the White House, several diplomatic and congressional sources told CNN.
Kushner is also using his trip to pursue more normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states, the sources added.
In a joint statement issued by the White House on August 13, Israel and the UAE announced that they had “agreed to the full normalization of relations.”
All Palestinian factions have unanimously condemned the UAE-Israel deal, describing it as a stab in the back of the oppressed nation.
On Saturday, the UAE announced it was scrapping its economic boycott against Israel, allowing trade and financial accords between the two sides.
