Abraham Accords

The Abraham Accords are a set of agreements that brought formal diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab nations. They started with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020, marking the first time these countries officially recognized Israel since Jordan in 1994. These agreements were helped along by the United States under President Donald Trump and signed in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2020.

Later, Sudan and Morocco also agreed to normalize relations with Israel. However, Sudan's agreement has not yet been fully approved. In later years, more countries like Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Somaliland were discussed as possible new members of the Accords.

These agreements were built on growing informal cooperation between Israel and Arab nations, especially because they shared concerns about Iran. The Accords allowed for new economic, diplomatic, and security partnerships. For example, Morocco's agreement included U.S. recognition of its control over Western Sahara, and Sudan gained removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism along with access to financial help.

While leaders in these countries supported the Accords, many ordinary people were not in favor, mainly because there was little progress on solving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Still, the Accords led to new projects in trade, defense, energy, technology, and cultural activities. The name "Abraham Accords" was picked to honor the shared roots of the Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Background

The effort to make peace between Israel and Palestine began with the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, but it stopped when fights began again. In 2002, many Arab countries said they would make peace with Israel if Israel left lands it had taken, like parts of the West Bank and Gaza.

Over time, Israel and some Arab countries started working together because they shared concerns about Iran. By 2018, leaders from Israel and Oman met to talk about peace. In 2019, Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to work together on safety matters.

In January 2020, the United States shared a plan for peace in the Middle East. This plan let Israel keep some lands but also gave the Palestinians some land and control. Not everyone thought this plan would really bring peace.

History

Agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain

Main articles: Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement and Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement

In May 2020, Israeli leaders talked about possibly taking control of some land, which upset some Arab countries. The United Arab Emirates said they would only make peace with Israel if this plan was stopped. After talks, Israel agreed not to take the land, and the UAE agreed to make peace. Soon after, Bahrain also agreed to make peace with Israel. The leaders signed these agreements in a special ceremony at the White House in September 2020.

Developments after the Gaza war

On November 2, 2023, because of fighting in Gaza, Bahrain said it would stop its ambassador from working in Israel for a while. Israel said its relationship with Bahrain was still strong.

Sudan

Main article: Israel–Sudan normalization agreement

In October 2020, Israel and Sudan agreed to make peace. The United States helped with this agreement and gave Sudan money to help with its debts. Sudan also agreed to pay money to people hurt in past conflicts, but said it did nothing wrong. In early 2021, Sudan signed the agreement, but later delays happened because of fighting inside Sudan.

Agreement between Israel and Morocco

Main article: Israel–Morocco normalization agreement

In December 2020, Israel and Morocco agreed to make peace. As part of this deal, the United States said it would recognize Morocco's control over a disputed area.

Kazakhstan

On November 6, 2025, it was announced that Kazakhstan would join the Abraham Accords. This was the first time a Central Asian country joined. In early 2026, Kazakhstan officially joined, focusing on working with Israel on technology and water projects.

Somaliland

In December 2025, Israel recognized Somaliland, and Somaliland said it would join the Abraham Accords.

Documents

The documents related to the Abraham Accords are as follows:

Aftermath

After Donald Trump left office, the United States continued to encourage more countries to establish friendly relations with Israel. Leaders hoped that Israel and its neighbors would work together for peace.

Some people in the countries that signed the Abraham Accords were unhappy, especially because there was still no progress on solving issues between Israelis and Palestinians. Tensions rose in May 2021 when protests happened in Jerusalem and there were attacks between Israel and Hamas.

The United Arab Emirates made it easier for people to call Israel directly for the first time in August 2020.

In November 2021, Israel and Morocco signed an agreement to work more closely together on safety matters. This was the first time Israel openly signed such an agreement with an Arab country.

Oman decided to wait until after the U.S. presidential election in November 2020 before deciding whether to normalize ties with Israel. In February 2021, Oman said it would keep its current level of communication with Israel.

In June 2023, U.S. officials warned that continuing tensions with Palestinians could make it harder to get more countries to join the Abraham Accords. Later, there were reports that the United States was trying to bring more countries into the Accords, including Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. However, Syria said it would not join.

The Abraham Fund was planned to help improve trade, clean water, and electricity in the region, but it never received any money and no projects started.

In November 2021, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan planned to work together on solar power and water sharing. However, these plans were delayed because of the war in Gaza.

Economic impact

The Abraham Accords helped Israel and the United Arab Emirates work together in many ways, especially in business. Before the accords, they already traded things like diamonds and worked in technology, but now they can work together more officially. For example, an Israeli company started working with a big investment group in Abu Dhabi, and another company opened an office there with help from the government.

Many Israeli and Emirati companies started working together, like law firms and healthcare groups. Israeli companies began selling products directly to places like Dubai, and new restaurants opened to serve Jewish visitors. Emirati businesses also started buying parts of Israeli companies, like a football team, a port company, and an airline.

After the accords, Israel sold a lot of defense equipment to these new friends, worth about $791 million. In 2026, Israel also got $6 billion from investors around the world by selling bonds, showing that many countries are interested in working with Israel now.

Environmental impact

In August 2021, a report said that a secret oil deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, made in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, made the town of Eilat a stop for oil going to Western markets. This could harm the Red Sea reefs, which have many different kinds of coral. Because Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia also share these waters, any problem could affect their environments too.

Collaborative efforts

In late 2020, groups from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain went to visit places in Israel like the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. They met with Israel’s president to share ideas and build friendships.

In early 2021, many events happened to help countries work together. People from the Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco joined Israel for a special online competition. They also took part in a day to remember a very sad time in history. Israel’s rugby team played its first match ever against a team from the Emirates. Later, people from several countries visited Israel’s ambulance service to learn about their important work. These events were all part of making peace and friendship stronger.

Opinion polling

Surveys show that many people in Arab countries that made peace with Israel do not like the Abraham Accords.

In November 2022, a large group of people from Saudi Arabia said they had negative feelings about these agreements. A poll done in late 2023 found that most Saudi participants thought Arab nations should stop working with Israel, and only a small number approved of Hamas agreeing to a two-state solution.