Abraham Accords — 2020 normalization of Israeli relations with some Arab countries
The Abraham Accords normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and four Arab states, marking the broadest Arab-Israeli normalization since the 1994 Jordan peace treaty.
Key Facts
- Signing date
- September 15, 2020
- Initial signatory Arab states
- United Arab Emirates and Bahrain
- Additional normalizing states
- Sudan and Morocco
- Prior Arab-Israeli normalization
- Jordan in 1994 (26 years earlier)
- Mediating power
- United States under President Donald Trump
- Name origin
- Shared Abrahamic heritage of Judaism and Islam
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Growing unofficial cooperation between Israel and Sunni Arab states during the 2010s, driven by shared concerns about Iran, led to increasingly public overtures by 2018. A key catalyst was the suspension of Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank, brokered as part of the Trump administration's peace plan framework in mid-2020.
The United States mediated agreements under President Trump that established formal diplomatic normalization between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, announced in August–September 2020 and signed in Washington on September 15, 2020. Sudan and Morocco subsequently agreed to normalize relations, with each deal including distinct U.S. concessions tailored to those countries.
The Accords opened new cooperation in trade, defense, energy, technology, and cultural exchange between Israel and participating Arab states. Public opinion in much of the Arab world remained opposed, largely due to absent progress on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Subsequent U.S. efforts sought to expand the Accords further, with Kazakhstan joining in late 2025.