US House of Representatives passes bill to establish Abraham Accords special envoy
US House of Representatives passes bill to establish Abraham Accords special envoy
The US House of Representatives has voted for the appointment of an envoy to ensure the Abraham Accords, which normalised ties between Israel and Arab states at the expense of Palestinians, are a success.
3 min read
The Biden administration has said it wants to build on Donald Trump's success in brokering the Abraham Accords [Getty]
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill creating a special envoy position within the State Department dedicated to the Abraham Accords and Israel’s normalisation of ties with countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres and Republican Mike Lawler, comes as US lawmakers hope the Biden administration continues to prioritise what they consider to be Israel’s regional integration.
The vote passed by 413-13, with eight members not voting. Eleven of the 13 'no' votes came from progressive Democrats who have regularly criticised Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and the failure of the Biden administration to hold Israel to account in any meaningful way, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Aryanna Pressley, and Cori Bush.
Final count for the Abraham Accords ambassador bill 413 to 13. No votes:
— Marc Rod (@marcrod97) June 13, 2023
Rich McCormick
Thomas Massie
Jamaal Bowman
Betty McCollum
Rashida Tlaib
Cori Bush
Ilhan Omar
AOC
Barbara lee
Summer Lee
Delia Ramirez
Ayanna Pressley
Chuy Garcia https://t.co/yhs3tIeYgf
In addition to the eleven democrats, two conservative Republican Representatives, Thomas Massie and Rich McCormick broke ranks with the Republican Party’s vehement pro-Israel stance and voted against the bill.
The legislation calls for the presidentially appointed envoy to be responsible for coordination on behalf of the US government with regional ambassadors, NGOs and all other relevant parties to strengthen and expand the Abraham Accords.
It is not yet know if the envoy 's remit will include the ongoing efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which have stalled in recent weeks as Saudi officials link any normalisation with Israel to a concrete solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Though there has been no official confirmation, it is widely believed in Washington circles that Dan Shapiro, the former US ambassador to Israel under the Obama administration, will become the first ever envoy with this mandate.
Speaking about the post to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the envoy would "deepen and broaden" the Accords, as well as "building on the work of the Trump administration".
The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, normalised ties between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco. Sudan agreed to normalise ties with Israel via the Accords in 2021.
The agreements were condemned by Palestinians as a betrayal of their cause by fellow Arab states, with critics pointing to how the Accords would isolate the Palestinians while legitimising and even substantially aiding Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
The bill will need to pass in the US Senate before it can be signed into law.
The foreign ministers of Israel, the US, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE are set to meet at the end of June in Morocco at the Negev forum.
More In News
