What are the Abraham Accords that Trump wants the Gulf countries to sign?

In the midst of discussions to find an agreement ending the war between the United States and Iran, Donald Trump on Monday urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan to normalize their relations with Israel, in the peace plan with Iran, by signing the Abraham Accords.

Sponsored by Donald Trump during his first term in the White House and represented by Jared Kushner, the Abraham Accords – which bear the name of the prophet Abraham, to whom Judaism, Christianity and Islam are linked – were signed in 2020. They led to the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

On the US State Department website, it is written that these agreements recognize in particular “the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and throughout the world” and encourage “efforts to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue in order to advance a culture of peace among the three religions”.

States refuse to join the agreements

Last November, Kazakhstan announced it would join the agreements. This announcement came after Donald Trump said he had had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The Central Asian republic, held with an iron fist by Tokayev, “is the first country in my second term to join the Abraham Accords, the first in a long series,” Donald Trump said on his Truth Social network.

However, many states have so far refused to join this process, in particular Saudi Arabia, as well as Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s neighbors. But with Kazakh accession, the United States hoped to revitalize these agreements, the expansion of which was suspended during the war in Gaza – triggered by the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023 -.

Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed optimism that Saudi Arabia will finally rejoin the accords, but Riyadh has shown no desire to move forward without at least a path to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Visiting the United States last November, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he wanted to work toward recognition of Israel “as soon as possible,” under conditions. “We want to be part of the Abraham Accords. But we also want to make sure that the path to a two-state solution is clearly laid out,” the Saudi leader said in the Oval Office alongside President Donald Trump.

The Saudi prince added: “We want peace for the Israelis. We want peace for the Palestinians.” “We want them to coexist peacefully in the region, and we will do our best to achieve this goal. » A project which is opposed by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.