UAE, Bahrain sign deal with Israel at White House

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The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements at the White House on Tuesday normalizing relations with Israel, becoming the first Arab states in decades to break the longstanding taboo.

(U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP):

"We're here this afternoon to change the course of history…"

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign ministers from the UAE and Bahrain capping a dramatic month when first the UAE and then Bahrain agreed to end decades of ill will with Israel.

(U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP):

“Today the world sees that they are choosing cooperation over conflict, friendship over enmity, prosperity over poverty and hope over despair.”

The deals make them the third and fourth Arab states to take such steps to normalize ties since Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 - and mark a diplomatic victory for Trump, who has spent his presidency forecasting deals on such intractable problems as North Korea's nuclear program only to find actual achievements elusive.

The deals also mark a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran, reflecting the countries’ shared concern about Iran's rising influence in the region and development of ballistic missiles.

They also come without a resolution of Israel's decades-old dispute with the Palestinians, some of whom protested in the streets, burning photos of the leaders involved, including Trump.

And in a sign that regional strife is sure to continue, sirens warning of rocket fire from Gaza sounded in southern Israel as the White House ceremony was under way.

Israel's Channel 12 TV said two people were wounded by rocket fragments at an Israeli shopping mall.

Palestinians view the new agreements as weakening a longstanding pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

Trump earlier in the day predicted at least five or six more countries would be signing deals with Israel, and told Fox News that the Palestinians would eventually forge peace with Israel or else be (quote), "left out in the cold."