The White House, the place chosen by the Emirates and Israel to seal diplomatic relations

The signing of the agreement to normalise diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel is now scheduled for Tuesday 15 September. The holder of the Gulf nation's foreign ministry, Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, will lead the delegation that will travel to Washington to take part in the signing of the so-called Abraham Accord.  

The director of Strategic Communications of the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs used the social network Twitter to point out that next week Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan will head the Emirati delegation that will take part in Washington in the signing ceremony of the Israeli agreement. "It will be a momentous occasion in the histories of our two countries & the region," he said.  

A White House representative - who spoke on condition of anonymity - said that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Emirates' foreign minister will lead their respective delegations to this ceremony. The US president, who is fighting for re-election in the presidential elections to be held on November 3, said he hoped that Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region would follow the same example as the United Arab Emirates. An emirate delegation could visit Israel on September 22 to make further progress in the normalisation of diplomatic relations.  

"I am proud to travel to Washington next week, at the invitation of President Trump, and to attend the historic ceremony at the White House to form the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates," Netanyahu wrote on this same social network. This announcement comes after the US President's senior advisor, Jared Kushner, and other senior administration officials accompanied an Israeli delegation on the first commercial flight between the two nations.  

On August 13 the US president, Donald Trump, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the emirate sheikh, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, agreed on the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. "This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region [...] All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from today’s historic achievement," they said in a joint communiqué.

With the announcement of August 13, the United Arab Emirates has become the third Arab country with current relations with Israel, in addition to Egypt and Jordan. The establishment of diplomatic relations between Tel Aviv and some of the American nation's allies in the oil-rich Middle East is part of the US president's regional strategy to reduce the presence of Iran, Israel's archenemy, in this strategic area. As part of this agreement, the Hebrew state decided to put a stop to the annexation of the West Bank, which is understood to mean the acquisition by force of a territory occupied by the occupying power, in this case Israel. 

"President Trump will host a historic signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on September 15 at the White House," a senior White House official told the EFE news agency. "This will be the first signing of a peace agreement at the White House in a long time: 26 years, in the case of those referring to the Middle East," he added.  Since August 13, both nations have adopted several measures to formalise this agreement; among them, the repeal by the Emirates of a federal boycott law against Israel, which established sanctions for anyone doing business with this country. 

The first commercial flight between the two nations is only the beginning of the formalisation of these diplomatic relations, which have been centred on various working groups ranging from diplomacy to economic issues and others such as investments, visas and cooperation in health and space matters.  

The Islamic Republic has rejected this agreement, considering that the Emirates has committed "great mistake and treasonous act" with the Palestinian cause. In response, the emirate's foreign ministry summoned the Iranian chargé d'affaires to hand over a formal complaint about Iran's comments and even threats following the agreement reached by Abu Dhabi with Israel to establish full relations. 

In this complex scenario, the State Department could have sold the ambassador's official residence in Tel Aviv, a decision that consolidates the controversial transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem, according to the digital Arab News on Tuesday.  "The buyer was was selected solely on the basis of having submitted the highest and best offer," they stressed.