Behind the "Abraham Accords"

The two initial parties formally signed the agreement on Sept. 15, 2020, at the White House lawn to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel under former US President Donald Trump. A similar agreement was signed between Morocco and Israel on Dec. 10, 2020.

Despite much Israeli anticipation, since the so-called "deal of the century", the scope of the "Abraham Accords" has failed to bring in new members.

The normalization deals were met with disappointment, especially among the resistance front.

The Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, stated that “some governments have unfortunately made errors – have made big errors and have sinned in normalizing [their relations] with the usurper and oppressor Zionist regime.” 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah noted some Arab states invented religious pretexts to legitimatize Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. 

Last year, Iraq approved a law banning any forms of normalization with the "Zionist enemy". 

Yemen said the “losers” who sought normalization “will soon regret their actions”.

The Palestinians condemned the three Arab states’ move, calling it a stab in the back. 

The normalization agreements include five matters that serve each party's interests.

Water scarcity remains a crucial issue for West Asia. Nations depend on water for survival and its shortage severely impacts economic stability and growth.

The expectation in the normalization deals is that water cooperation will mostly be focused on a startup ecosystem.

A deal between Israel, Jordan, and the UAE saw water delivered to Jordan by Israel in exchange for solar energy exported from Jordan. 

With climate change driving the water shortage, another option within the framework of the Abraham Accords is to set up a fund that supports water projects.

In October, a meeting was held on the concerns of food scarcity among signatories to the "Abraham Accords" in the southern Israeli settlement of Eilat.

The Israeli "Negev Forum" last year brought together the foreign ministers of the countries who signed the "Abraham Accords".

Participants discussed cooperation in energy, regional security, tourism, food security, water, and health.

However, the planned gathering at the Negev Forum this year has been reportedly postponed due to the escalation in Israel's attacks against Palestinians in the occupied territories.

In October Israel and Bahrain signed an agriculture cooperation deal, Israeli officials said. A Bahraini delegation traveled to the occupied Palestinian territories and the regime signed deals with both Morocco and Bahrain.

The signing took place at an international conference in the Israeli settlement of Eilat in the occupied Palestinian territories whose focus included "innovation in aquaculture, as part of global efforts to address food security". Also present were officials from the UAE.

During a recent trip to the UAE, as part of Washington’s efforts to build on the "Abraham Accords", Jose Fernandez, a US undersecretary of state, said he had discussed certain projects.

Israel, US want to advance Abraham Accords by holding sports, economic, social, educational,cultural gatherings