This was a monumental week of diplomatic achievements for Israel and America.
Included in the news below my signature is an announcement made by President Trump that Serbia is moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and Kosovo is normalizing its relationship with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Kosovo’s embassy would also be in Jerusalem.
The budding relationship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates also achieved major breakthroughs this week.
On Monday, the first El Al flight landed in Abu Dhabi. Click here to watch a moving video from the pilot of that maiden trip that escorted top American and Israeli officials to the UAE for meetings.
For the first time, Saudi Arabia allowed an El Al plane to fly over its airspace, and later in the week it announced that all future flights to the UAE were allowed to use its airspace. Bahrain followed with a similar announcement, cutting the flight time from Israel to the UAE to 3.5 hours.
And El Al announced a new weekly cargo flight from Israel to the UAE beginning this month, carrying Israeli agricultural and high-tech equipment.
The two nations also agreed to work together in various areas, from financial services and joint investments to combating terror financing and money laundering.
We are all a part of these remarkable achievements. Greater peace and prosperity, as we’ve witnessed with Israel and the UAE, Serbia and Kosovo, is possible when American support for Israel is ironclad and the Jewish state is strong—which we work so hard to achieve.
Below are more developments to note from this week.
Sincerely,
Brian Shankman
Director of Regional Affairs and Development
Serbia Moves Israeli Embassy to Jerusalem, Kosovo Normalizes Ties with Israel
Hours ago, the Republic of Serbia announced it will move its embassy to Jerusalem and Kosovo announced it will normalize economic ties with Israel.
President Aleksandar Vučić announced his intention to open a state office in Jerusalem at AIPAC's 2020 Policy Conference.
Peace and prosperity are possible when American support for Israel is strong.
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on ICC Officials
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, as well as the court's head of jurisdiction.
The ICC is pursuing unjust, politically charged cases against the Untied States and Israel. AIPAC applauds the Trump administration’s actions in opposition to the ICC's unjustified attacks on Israel.
In May, 69 Senators and 262 Representatives signed a letter condemning the illegitimate effort by the ICC to prosecute Israel.
U.S. Sanctions Entities Supporting Iranian Activities
On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated multiple entities for their support of a company involved in the sale of Iranian petrochemical products.
Iranian petrochemical sales remain a key revenue source for the Iranian regime, helping to finance its destabilizing support to corrupt regimes and terrorist groups throughout the Middle East.
The security relationship between the United States and Israel is critically important to our national security. This week, we distributed Defense Digest to Congressional offices chronicling several recent examples of U.S.-Israel cooperation, including an agreement the U.S. and Israel signed to make U.S.
missiles interoperable with Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
Fifteen years ago, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza and offered its Palestinian residents generous terms for improving their economy and well-being.
But instead of moving toward peace, Hamas turned Gaza into a launching pad for terrorism.
