DID US AND EUROPEAN OFFICIALS TRY TO TORPEDO THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS?

Pompeo: US officials tried to undermine Abraham Accords to help Palestinians

 

By Ariel Kahana

 

Israel Hayom

March 2, 2021

 

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is accusing certain US and European officials of attempting to block the historic Abraham Accords in order to keep the Palestinian issue at the top of the international agenda.

In a speech at the annual conference of the Combat Anti-Semitism movement, at which the organization awarded him a prize, Pompeo discussed opposition to the accords and said that the Russians, as well as certain policy-makers in the United States and Europe, would have preferred to see them fail to materialize.

According to Pompeo, the unnamed officials wanted to maintain the "delusion" that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the keystone to regional peace. The former secretary of state said that when the opponents of the accords, realized that no Intifada would erupt as a result of the agreements being signed, and Israel could establish "warm ties" with its regional neighbors, they saw that the Trump administration's approach had been correct.

Pompeo said he believed that many other countries would sign on to the accords, adding that he hoped Saudi Arabia would be one, as well as Muslim countries outside the Middle East.

Pompeo also discussed the processes that led up to the accords, saying that the Palestinians had clung to their line of "no, no, no," prompting the administration to decide to move ahead with other countries in the Middle East, whose leaders said they did not want the Palestinians to bar them from establishing relations with Israel. Those countries said they wanted ties "not founded on hatred," Pompeo said.

The Abraham Accords will last, he said, adding that people in Sudan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates would not go backward.

When did the breakthrough that paved the way to the accords take place? According to Pompeo, it was at a summit in Warsaw, Poland, in 2019 at which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down with foreign ministers of the Gulf states, which he called a "historic moment."

Touching on Iran, Pompeo said that the Abraham Accords would not have been signed if the US administration under former President Donald Trump had not made a "180-degree turn" in its approach to Iran. Pompeo said that the administration of former President Barack Obama had made a deal with Iran that ultimately helped it continue its nuclear weapons program. Pompeo said he had held talks with leaders of Gulf nations and promised to help defend them against Iran and said that it was time Iran felt the consequences of its policy not only toward Israel, but also toward Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

As for US sanctions on Ira, Pompeo said that the world had not believed they would work. He said the world today should ask the ayatollahs, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani whether or not the sanctions had been effective or not. The US sanctions stopped Iran from supporting Hezbollah and Shiite militias, and kept vast sums of money out of their hands, he said.

President Trump had done "the right thing" by arguing the strike that killed former commander of Iran's elite Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who he said was responsible for "so much" in the region. He said the strike caused Arab leaders to see that the US was a partner and they could go where their people were already inclined to: battle anti-Semitism and build peace agreements with Israel.

President Reuven Rivlin also spoke at the conference and said that just like the world has come together to fight COVID, it must stand together to fight the "pandemic" of anti-Semitism and hatred. Rivlin also said that the world must adopt a zero-tolerance policy on anti-Semitism, racism, and radicalism.

Israeli Ambassador to the US and the United Nations Gilad Erdan congratulated Pompeo on his leadership award and said that Pompeo's outstanding commitment and activity on behalf of the security of the Jewish people and the state of Israel were commendable.