Yesterday was an historic day for Israel and its relations with the Arab and Muslim world. Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have arrived at an agreement paving the path to signing a peace deal in the coming weeks. Announced by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the deal was mediated by the United States and is set to completely normalize diplomatic relations between the countries.

Since gaining independence in 1948, Israel has been forced to settle with the absence of diplomatic relations with the majority of Arab and Muslim countries. There are only two Arab countries with whom Israel has peace agreements today—Egypt and Jordan. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was the first Arab leader to reach out to Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Jerusalem for peace in 1979, subsequently resulting in a signed agreement and an official visit to Israel. Then 16 years later in 1994, Israel’s Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein signed yet another historic peace treaty. Both of these monumental agreements were mediated by the United States and have constituted critical security assets...