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Abraham Accords set to grow, Israeli peace talks underway with this island nation

The island state of Comoros will be the fifth signatory to the Accords if negotiations are successful. 

By Donna Rachel Edmunds, World Israel News. 

Last year’s historic Abraham Accords initiative looks set to grow, with Comoros, Qatar, Tunisia, Oman, and Malaysia all being touted Monday as possible additional signatories.

On Monday, a senior diplomatic source revealed that Israel is already in talks with Comoros, a Muslim-majority island state located between Madagascar, and Mozambique and Tanzania on the east coast of Africa.

Comoros, which is an Arab League member, is the only Arab state that lies entirely in the southern hemisphere.

Following an introduction brokered by the United States, bilateral talks have continued between Comoros and Israel aimed at achieving a normalization agreement. Sources in Jerusalem have indicated that, at this time, it is unclear if the effort will be successful, but if it is, the island state will be the fifth signatory to the accords.

A spokesman at The Foreign Ministry told Israel Hayom: “Israel does not comment on the issue of other countries that may join the peace treaty.”

The Abraham Accords Declaration, signed on September 15 2020 by Israel, the United States, The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain not only paved the way for normalization agreements between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco respectively, but have also led to flourishing new relationship between the states, most notably between Israel and the UAE.

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Visiting the UAE, Israel’s Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej told Emirati website Erem News that Qatar, Tunisia, Oman, and Malaysia could soon follow suit in joining the Accords with normalization agreements of their own, according to Israel Hayom, although Qatari sources have recently ruled out the prospect until the Palestinian situation can be resolved.

“Every Arab country in the Middle East, even the hostile countries, we have direct and indirect relations with them. I see on the far horizon that all the countries of the Middle East will be within a union,” said Frij, a Meretz MK.

The Accords were a “historical event and a turning point in the whole region,” which had “led to movement and dynamism at the commercial, strategic, and political levels, after a period of stagnation,” Frij continued.

The minister added that he had met with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed during his recent visit, and that the pair had held discussions on the role Arab-Israelis can play in forging a successful relationship between the two states. Arab-Israelis “must have a positive role, as a bridge to link Israel’s relations with the region,” he said.

Some 250,000 Arab-Israelis have already visited the UAE over the last six months.