What are the promises set forth by this peace agreement?
The Israel-United Arab Emirates peace agreement, also known as the Abraham Accord, was agreed upon by both parties on August 13th, 2020. Following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a result of this peace agreement, has officially recognized Israel as a state. Within this peace agreement, both parties promise to establish normal, diplomatic relations with one another. Despite the full diplomacy being an eventual case, this promise will immediately cause business relations, direct flights - which will directly increase tourism between both states - scientific cooperation, and further economic stability. The "catch," however, is that Israel must temporarily end their planned annexation of Palestine's Gaza Strip, and to not further their efforts in claiming others' lands. If Israel decides to go ahead with their plans and continue their unlawful efforts, then the deal is off - or so they have publicly promised.
Public Concern
This agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel seems as though this is their first time having a partnership, but they have been aligned with one another informally for years. During this time, Israel has continued to annex many parts of Palestinian land; murdering countless civilians, imprisoning the innocent, and sending millions to seek refuge elsewhere. So, why would UAE strike a deal and promise that the intentions were to partly help the Palestinians when they have never done so before? Some may call it blatant hypocrisy. Others may say that the UAE has turned over a new leaf. Regardless, the United Arab Emirates signed this agreement purely for economic reasons, and their lack of aid towards Palestinians in the past raises many concerns as to why they would seemingly be willing to help now.
Along with this, the United States' President, Donald Trump, announced this deal, causing unease in Palestinians and its supporters. President Trump has been known for supporting Israel's annexation efforts, so for him to be the one to announce this agreement publicly is nothing short of concerning.
The aftermath of unkept promises.
Following the decision to go ahead with this agreement, there were many negative feelings radiating from Palestinians, who - unsurprisingly - felt betrayed. After this, Palestine, in the public eye, went dark and no one outside of its borders - or lack thereof - could be updated via news coverage. The only source of information has been social media posts by civilians within Palestine. Since the agreement was signed, Israeli forces have allegedly cut off Palestinians' source of electricity - in the middle of a global pandemic - eventually giving them only four hours of electricity a day, continued to bomb and steal land since August 6th, and have since murdered and imprisoned more Palestinians. One Twitter user @SFelsteen stated on August 23rd, 2020, "Gaza is pitch dark... Gaza has no electricity for the seventh day in a row Children sleep on the tiles due to the high temperatures. By God, I slept two days on the tiles," with a photo of what appears to be four young children sleeping on the floor. Another Twitter user, @MuhammedSmiry, discusses the horrors of living in Palestine daily, whilst declaring himself a "Journalist by nature." In one tweet, @MuhammedSmiry - also on August 23rd, 2020 - stated, "It's 4:31 am and we're being bombed by Israel now. #GazaUnderAttack." On August 28th, 2020, he also tweeted, "Morning starts in Gaza with Israeli bombing," while including photos of smoke coming from distant buildings and houses.
Conclusion
Clearly, Israel did not keep the promises they declared when signing the so-called "peace" agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Along with this, the UAE did not stay true to their word because both parties have continued to further their diplomatic relationship. There was public support for this deal since their promises eased the minds of those who supposedly are against the mass genocide that has taken place in Palestine by Israeli forces since 1946, yet have stayed silent and not reported on the blatant injustices and lies strung up by Israel and the UAE. It is almost as if the third party in the agreement has something to do with Palestine going dark and the mass media not reporting on this cruelty.
