VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The United Arab Emirates -UAE and Bahrain are the third and fourth Arab countries to recognize Israel since its inception in 1948. Previously, only Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel in the Middle East in 1979 and 1994 respectively.

The peace agreement between the UAE and Bahrain with Israel, called the "Abraham Accords", was conducted at the White House in Washington D.C, the United States of America. US President, Donald Trump has praised the peace agreement between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain and called it "the dawn of the new Middle East".

For decades, most Arab states have boycotted Israel, insisting that they would only establish relations after Israel's dispute with Palestine is resolved. President Trump has claimed that as many as five or six other countries will soon undertake a similar deal with Israel. However, he did not mention the names of the countries that would normalize relations with Israel

Will the signing of this peace agreement change international support for Palestine ahead?

Indonesia, which is one of the supporters of Palestine, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the peace agreement between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain will not change its position towards Palestine. Indonesia will continue to defend the rights of the Palestinian people. Because basically, the settlement of the Palestinian issue must respect the UN Security Council resolutions related to it, as well as the internationally agreed parameters, including a two-state solution.

Spokesman of Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Teuku Faizasyah said that the peace agreement could not invalidate the Arab Peace Initiative decision in 2002. It stated that Arab countries could establish diplomatic relations with Israel once the Palestinian issue is resolved. Arab countries should remember and comply with this agreement. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. Naturally, Palestinians feel betrayed.

However, it is quite interesting to see the steps of other Arab countries regarding support for Palestine amid improving relations between the UAE and Bahrain with Israel. Saudi Arabia, for example, in the Arab League meeting recently emphasized its support for the birth of an independent Palestinian state, an attitude that Saudi Arabia has not shown for a long time. So far, it has been suspected that Saudi Arabia's closeness to the USA has brought it closer to Israel.

Apart from Indonesia, which has firmly demonstrated its stance, how various countries will respond to the normal relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain is not seen yet, especially those who have expressed support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.