Earlier this summer, President Donald Trump brokered a historic peace deal between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Gathering in Washington D.C., Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, and Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani of Bahrain all signed the Abraham Accords, a peace deal expressing common interests and hopes for the future.
Founded in 1948, it took thirty-one years for Israel to begin its first diplomatic relations with a country in the Middle East, Egypt. Fifteen years later, in 1994, Israel signed a peace deal with another Arab state in the Middle East, Jordan. This past summer, in a span of twenty-nine days, Trump helped Israel normalize relations with two more Arab countries.
When the UAE and Bahrain achieved independence from Britain in 1971, their relationship with Israel was cold. Neither country recognized Israel as a legitimate country. Yet, over the years, both countries have been warming up to Israel, due to their united opposition toward the growing Iranian influence in the region.
Indeed, Trump has broken a 39-year-old streak of American Presidents either starting a war or bringing the United States into an international armed conflict.
member of the Norwegian Parliament, Christian Tybring-Gjedde
Due to his role in facilitating these peace deals, Trump received his third nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize from a member of the Norwegian Parliament, Christian Tybring-Gjedde. According to Fox News, Tybring-Gjedde said,“[f]or his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees… Indeed, Trump has broken a 39-year-old streak of American Presidents either starting a war or bringing the United States into an international armed conflict. The last president to avoid doing so was Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter.” Tybring-Gjedde continued his remarks, later claiming that “[t]he people who have received the Peace Prize in recent years have done much less than Donald Trump. For example, Barack Obama did nothing.”
Trump would be the fifth U.S. president to receive the prize with Theodore Roosevelt (Russo-Japanese peace deal), Woodrow Wilson (League of Nations), Jimmy Carter (promoting peace), and Barack Obama (international diplomacy) already having received it. Jimmy Carter was integral to Israel and Egypt reaching a peace deal—and he ultimately received the Nobel Peace Prize for his proclivity towards peace. While not winning the prize, Bill Clinton was also nominated previously for his efforts in facilitating a peace deal between Israel and Jordan.
