Arab-Israeli normalization picks up pace in 2020

Since the beginning of 2020, the pace of normalization between Israel and Arab countries has accelerated considerably on the political, military, economic, and even sports fronts.

Tel Aviv has been keen to publicly announce secret relations with Arab countries in a bid to break with political tradition.

Current developments coincided with the announcement of the so-called "Deal of the Century" the White House unveiled late last month.

Notably, Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries that have public diplomatic relations with Israel.

The following are the main developments since the beginning of 2020:

Jan. 19: Israel officially announces its participation in Expo 2020 Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The exhibition will be held from Oct. 2020 until April 2021. The UAE, for its part, did not comment on the Israeli announcement.

Jan. 28: Ambassadors of the UAE, Bahrain and Oman take part in the White House unveiling ceremony for the so-called "Deal of the Century" in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked them for attending the event.

Jan. 30: French website Intelligence Online announces that Morocco has received three Israeli-made aircraft. Three Israel Aerospace Industries Heron drones were purchased for $48 million to spy on desert areas. Rabat neither confirmed nor denied the report.

Jan. 31: Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan retweets the link to an article calling on Palestinians not to refuse the "Deal of the Century." The article was an opinion piece published by The New York Times titled "Every Time Palestinians Say 'No,' They Lose."

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