Israel to host Arab foreign ministers in historic meeting

JERUSALEM • Israel will host a historic summit this weekend with top diplomats from the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco and Bahrain, a sign of how quickly the realignment of Middle Eastern powers is accelerating as Israelis and some Arab governments find common cause not only over Iran but also in navigating the new global realities created by the Ukraine war.

Unimaginable half a decade ago, the high-level meeting reflects the new political reality created when Israel sealed landmark diplomatic agreements with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020.

Planned for today and tomorrow, it is set to be the first meeting with top officials from three Arab countries on Israeli soil, and highlights how Israel - which needed the United States to help broker the 2020 accords - can now become a bridge between Washington and certain Arab governments.

The upcoming meeting will provide a forum to discuss both disagreements and shared concerns about the Ukraine war; the possibility of a new nuclear deal with Iran; and the need to avoid a surge of violence in Israel and the occupied territories next month, when three important Jewish, Muslim and Christian holidays will overlap.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will host the conference, which his ministry said would bring together US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and Mr Nasser Bourita, their Moroccan counterpart. An Israeli official told Agence France-Presse yesterday that they will be joined by Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Israel was ostracised for years by all but two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, as much of the Arab world refused to normalise ties until the creation of a Palestinian state.

But that changed in 2020, when Israel established diplomatic relations with the UAE and Bahrain and re-established them with Morocco.

NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE