UK Parliament
Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP this week marked the first anniversary of the Abraham Accords normalising relations between Israel, UAE and Bahrain, with a short debate in the House of Commons.
Mr Jenrick underlined: “The fact that Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan… have come together and taken a material step forward in the relationships, normalising relations between the nations, the faiths and the peoples, is potentially a substantial step forward”.
He also raised “How we can nurture this fragile agreement and help it to continue and to broaden the circle of nations that have taken part in it”, and lastly asked “what is the role for the United Kingdom, and for our Government in particular, in taking this forward?”.
Mr Jenrick also spoke of his family connection to previous peace agreements, stating, “My uncle, Eli Rubinstein, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Israel, was the chief negotiator at the Camp David Accords. He told me that he would meet privately and holiday with his former interlocutors from Jordan, Egypt and other states who had been involved in those negotiations, in order to continue the friendships that they had built up. However, that is nothing compared with what we are now seeing as a result of these transformational changes”.
Responding to Mr Jenrick’s points, Middle East Minister Rt. Hon. said: “The Abraham Accords were indeed an historic moment, beginning a new chapter in Israeli foreign policy and regional collaboration, hopefully bringing us all a step closer to resolving one of the major issues driving instability and conflict in the Middle East”.
He underlined: “I look forward to working closely with my opposite numbers in the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, and, indeed, any other country that wishes to join and support the normalisation of relations, and bring peace, strength and stability to the region”. Watch the debate here.
