DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Telephone calls began ringing Sunday between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, marking the first concrete step of a U.S.-brokered diplomatic deal between the nations that required Israel to halt plans to annex land sought by the Palestinians.
Anger over the deal however continued as well, with protesters in Pakistan criticizing the UAE and Iran making new threats about the accord, which will see the Emirates become only the third Arab nation to currently recognize Israel. The UAE responded by summoning Iran’s chargé d’affairs to criticize earlier comments by Iran’s president it described as threatening.
But for Dubai’s small expatriate Jewish community, which has worshipped for years at an unmarked villa in this city-state, the calls represented so much more than just the convenience of being able to directly dial loved ones in Israel.
“There’s a sense of a miracle upon a miracle upon a miracle, as all of these hurdles fall away and people at last can come together and start talking,” Ross Kriel, the president of the Jewish Council of the Emirates, told The Associated Press.
Direct telephone calls have been blocked in the Emirates, a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, since its founding in 1971. That backed the standing position of Arab nations at the time, that Israel must first grant concessions to the Palestinians before being recognized — one of their few points of leverage.
Excellent.
This was made possible because we put an end to Obama’s coddling and aiding terrorist Iran!
As usual the hateful liberal squad, like Omar, denounces peace.
No Democrats denounce Omar!
Liberals are awful! Just awful!
Big win for Trump!
It’s been 1,305 days since Obama left office. No rush, huh?
There you go jjf, make a sparky comment about the duration instead of the actual activity. BTW, since you brought it up, Obama had 2,922 days and didn’t get it done. Does that make Trump at least 2 times better than Obama?
jjf, Obama couldn’t accomplish this in 8 years.
And it didn’t require Hercs full of cash.
Merlin, this cash? That sneaky time-travelling Obama!
jjf,
Took a while to repair the insane damage Obama did to peace in Middle East.
If only we knew what the USA did in the Middle East before Obama’s term. It’s a mystery! It was probably all peace-keeping.
jjf,
deflection. Obama gave huge money to terrorists. Trump put an end to it.
Wait, are we talking about this cash?
jjf,
That was stupid too. Your point being? You defend stupidity?
At least in 2007 case Iraq was helping to oppose Iran in region.
Helping Iran was just a treasonaous act by Obama.
You’ve got plenty of evidence of decades of interference in the Middle East, at least two big shipments of cash in two administrations, but it’s Obama, right?
jjf,
There is good policy and bad policy.
Obama was stupid and awful policy…which is bad policy for liberals that may not know that stupid and awful means bad.
So k, what do you think about Iran-Contra? Stupid and awful, or OK because it was done by R’s?