Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Tony Blair... UAE-Israel Peace Agreement's Engineer


Thu 10 Sep 2020 | 12:10 PM
Nawal Sayed

An Israeli newspaper revealed that Tony Blair, a former British premier, worked behind the scenes to conclude the newly-announced peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel.

For years, a UAE minister and Yitzhak Molcho, a top advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, held secrets meetings in London, Abu Dhabi, and Nicosia, according to Israel Hayom newspaper reports.

“These back-channel negotiations were made possible thanks to the efforts of Former British Premier Tony Blair, who also served as special Quartet envoy to the Middle East until 2015,” the Israeli newspaper stated.

In an interview with Israel Hayom, Blair confirmed that “The meetings were held from 2015 until the forced resignation of Molcho in 2018, at which point he stopped helping Netanyahu, after being falsely accused of being involved in the submarine case.”

The newspaper pointed out that Molcho conveyed messages from Netanyahu to the Emirates. Later, the closer relations led to phone conversations between Netanyahu and UAE's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, until two meetings were held in 2018.

UAE-Israel Peace Deal

Earlier, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said that the agreement to normalize relations concluded by his country with Israel is a “bold step to ensure a two-state solution for Palestine.”

“The agreement stipulates laying down a roadmap towards launching joint cooperation, leading to bilateral relations… stopping Israel’s annexation of the Palestinian territories,” the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, announced in a tweet on Thursday.

Palestinian Exclusive: Will UAE-Israel Peace Deal Help Two-State Solution?

MBZ indicated that the UAE-Israeli agreement came after a phone call between him, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Mont Carlo report.

A joint statement was issued by the United States of America, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, stating that the agreement provides for “the conduct of full bilateral relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.”