Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan participatein the signing of the Abraham Accords normalizing diplomatic relations between their countries at the White House on September 15, 2020. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
(CNSNews.com) – When President Donald Trump took office, “he was known as a deal-maker,” National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien told Fox News Tuesday night. “I think he’s going to leave office, hopefully four years from now, and he’s going to be known as a peacemaker.”
O’Brien spoke on the same day Trump hosted a historic signing ceremony at the White House, where Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain agreed to normalize relations.
“One of the reasons we have peace breaking out with the Arab and Israeli sides is because the president got out of the terrible JCPOA that gave the Iranians $150 billion and sanctions relief and put them on the pathway to a nuclear weapon,” O’Brien explained.
“We have gotten out of that. We put maximum pressure on the Iranians. As a result, the Israelis and the Arab countries that have been harassed and molested by Iran for so many years had renewed confidence, both in us as a partner, but in each other. And so we’re seeing the direct fruits of — in these peace agreements of the president’s tough action Iran.”
O’Brien, who helped arrange the peace deal, said Trump’s approach to Mideast peace was “radically different” than that of the Washington foreign policy establishment.
He recognized the facts on the ground in Israel, and moved our embassy to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. Everyone knew it was the capital of Israel. Every presidential candidate promised to do so. The president kept his promise. He recognized the Golan Heights. So, we developed a tremendous amount of political capital with Israel.
At the same time, we got out of the terrible JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal), which had alienated our Gulf Arab friends in Saudi Arabia and in the UAE and Bahrain and other countries, Kuwait, other countries in the Gulf. So, he developed tremendous credibility with the Gulf states.
And he used that political capital that he gained with both Israel and with the Gulf states, which many politicians never want to do. But he used that political capital to bring them to the table and to really push for an agreement that would be great for both sides.
And, today, we saw the fruits of it.
O’Brien called it a “historic day of peace,” and he expressed the hope that the Palestinians will embrace the opportunity to make peace with Israel:
With respect to the Palestinians, the president has come forward with the most comprehensive plan for peace between Israel and Palestine ever. And that vision for Middle East peace that senior adviser Kushner and Secretary Pompeo, myself and others have been working on throughout the region gives the Palestinians an opportunity to double their GDP.
It calls for a two-state solution to the Palestinian impasse. It provides territorial integrity for the Palestinians. It’s a terrific … first offer for the Palestinians come to the table.
So, we really hope they take advantage of this opportunity, as peace is breaking out, to come to the table with the Israelis, to be supported by their Arab brethren, and to reach a peace deal. And it would be just terrific for their — especially for the young Palestinians.
I mean, this is an older government. There’s a lot of corruption in the Palestinian Authority. We’d like to see young Palestinians who want a great future and want to participate in the technological boom that’s taking place in Israel and across certain parts of the Middle East, like UAE.
We want them to be part of it and have a great future. The president loves them, and we want to see a great deal.
