The Abraham Accords: Immediate Significance and Long-Term Implications

On August 13, 2020, the United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint official announcement that Israel and the UAE would be embarking on a political process of full normalization of relations.A month later, on September 11, Bahrain joined the Emiratis by announcing its intention to normalize relations with Israel, also facilitated by the US. The timing of the so-called Abraham Accords may have come as a total surprise to many; however, the formal announcements only serve to bring the incremental progress in bilateral relations between Israel and several Arab Gulf states since the turn of this century into plain view. Formalization of these prospective alliances makes complete sense as a “tacit security regime” in light of shared and overlapping concerns— both regarding Iran and Islamic extremists and mounting uncertainties

about future US strategy and engagement in the Middle East.