Netanyahu: "I assure you, more countries are on the way"

By David Isaac, World Israel News - 

“I have in my hands the draft historic peace treaty between Israel and the Emirates,” Netanyahu said on the lawn of Blair House.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was clearly exited as he sat outside at Blair House across from the White House on Monday, holding two pieces of paper.

“I have in my hands the draft historic peace treaty between Israel and the Emirates, and the historic peace proposal between Israel and Bahrain,” he said in a video posted to his Twitter account on Monday.

“We have been working on it for many, many years, this moment comes tomorrow. A huge turn in the history of Israel and the history of the Middle East,” he said.

Netanyahu had flown from Israel on Sunday night. The signing ceremony will take place Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Israel time.

On August 13, President Donald Trump announced the breakthrough deal between Israel and the UAE, which the U.S. helped to mediate. At the ceremony, Senior Trump advisor Jared Kushner hinted that more Arab countries would follow. That prediction took on flesh and blood when Bahrain on Friday announced it too would forge ties with Israel.

Adding to expectations that the peace train won’t stop with Bahrain, Netanyahu said in his video post, “I assure you, more countries are on the way.”

Oman has been floated as the next Arab country in line to make peace with Israel. The question is whether, as one of the few countries with good relations with Iran, it will be willing to take the risk.

Part of the motivation by Gulf States to establish ties with Israel is to gain American support against an aggressive Iran, which hasn’t hidden its regional ambitions.

There is also a weariness among Arab states with the Palestinian issue. “We didn’t understand how much the Arab public is fed up with the Palestinian issue, and sick of paying for the Palestinian problem, and how it’s possible to advance a political process without paying a price to the Palestinians,” notes Dr. Eyal Zisser, Vice Rector of Tel Aviv University and professor of Contemporary History of the Middle East.