UAE, US, Israeli FMs to Meet in Washington Soon to Boost Abraham Accords

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (R) in Rome in June 2021. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (R) in Rome in June 2021. (AFP)
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UAE, US, Israeli FMs to Meet in Washington Soon to Boost Abraham Accords

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (R) in Rome in June 2021. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (R) in Rome in June 2021. (AFP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will hold a trilateral meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the coming days, political sources in Tel Aviv said.

The meeting aims to discuss cooperation between the three countries within the framework of the Abraham Accords, in addition to Iran and the Biden administration’s nuclear talks with Tehran.

Lapid is expected to travel to Washington on Monday for talks with senior Biden administration officials, including Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Lapid’s office said that three ministers should discuss progress made in the Emirati-Israeli relations since the signing of the Abraham Accords last year, and to study additional opportunities to boost peace in the Middle East, in addition to security issues and regional stability.

Blinken last month pledged to encourage more Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel as he hosted a virtual meeting with Israeli and Arab counterparts to mark the first anniversary of the set of landmark diplomatic agreements.

The leaders of Israel, the UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords, widely seen as a diplomatic success for former President Donald Trump, at the White House in September of last year.

Biden has backed the deals since taking office in January, and senior aides have said they were working to get additional Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel after decades of enmity.



Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinians in the volatile northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by militant groups to protest a rare crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.