Israel hailed a US-brokered peace deal with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday as a "great day for peace" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold a news conference at 1600 GMT to comment further. Saying he had to deal with a matter of great national interest, Netanyahu abruptly left a cabinet discussion on the coronavirus crisis about an hour before US President Donald Trump announced the agreement to normalise relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab country. On Twitter, Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador in Washington, wrote: "A great day for peace! Israel commends the courage of MBZ (de facto UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan) for the historic decision of the UAE to join Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in making peace with Israel. Israel deeply appreciates all ... Trump has done to make this breakthrough possible."
A great day for peace! Israel commends the courage of MBZ for the historic decision of the UAE to join Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in making peace with Israel. Israel deeply appreciates all @POTUS Trump has done to make this breakthrough possible. More to come! — Amb. Ron Dermer (@AmbDermer) August 13, 2020