Inside the White House
By William Koenig
As I have shared before in my 20 plus years of studying and documenting patterns, COVID-19 was on the heels of Trump’s Peace to Prosperity plan and led to America’s national sin judgment. Life before and after the January 28 introduction of the Peace to Prosperity plan are two distinctively different worlds.
The U.S. and Israel proportionally have been two of the hardest hit COVID-19 countries in the world.
There was a lot of excitement in political circles in the U.S., Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week. On the surface the potential agreement seems rewarding to all the parties. Israel has had a very good relationship with the UAE for a long time on the intelligence, defense and economic fronts. But we heard this week the timing of this agreement was to stop Israel from annexation (extended sovereignty) of parts of Judea and Samaria.
Interestingly, the same day that Jared Kushner was in Israel meeting with Netanyahu, Gantz and Ashkenazi on the Israel-UAE deal that had stopped the extended sovereignty efforts on God’s covenant land, Israel extended the national COVID-19 state of emergency from September 6 to November 6, which will have a devastating impact on the Israeli economy. Thursday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said a national lockdown is possible. On Friday, Israel's COVID-19 czar Gamzu says 'Israel is at war', tough decisions are afoot as the virus spreads.
On Sunday, August 30, Israel also had a second day of record heat and the largest use of electricity in its history. The record heat as well as the daily COVID-19 warnings have continued throughout the week (chronology below). On Friday, Israeli citizens were reporting power outages across the country, with the electric company stating that this is due to the heat wave, Walla reported.
Chronology: Kushner Middle East normalization efforts and Israel’s tough week
The future economic benefits of a UAE deal were expressed this week while the Israel economy took another huge hit this week due to COVID-19.
August 30, 2020: The day Kushner arrives in Israel coronavirus emergency extended and record heat;
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Israel hopes for signing deal with UAE by mid-September
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On eve of 1st UAE flight, Netanyahu claims Palestinians can’t ‘veto’ Israel-Arab peace
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Gantz to Kushner: Let’s work together to keep Israel’s military edge
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Ministers ask Knesset committee to extend coronavirus state of emergency from September 6 to November 6
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Intense heat wave settles in across Israel; setting new electricity use record
August 31, 2020
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Palestinians should come to the negotiating table, not remain stuck in the past, Kushner says in the UAE
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Late summer heatwave drives energy consumption to all-time high
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Schools in ‘red’ zones won’t start Tuesday, cabinet rules in about-face
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Ministers okay lockdowns in 30 cities with high infection rates starting Monday
September 1, 2020
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Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and Kushner discuss resuming Palestinian-Israeli talks
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Netanyahu: Decision on lockdowns due to recent increase in infection rate
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Kushner: 100% possible, and logical, for all 22 Arab states to recognize Israel
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Jared Kushner visit shows importance of accord to Trump’s campaign
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Senior UAE official: We got US assurances annexation won’t happen
September 2, 2020
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Qatar to Kushner: Two states needed to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict; another country committed to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002
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Israel’s coronavirus czar warns of local lockdowns as nearly 3,000 cases recorded in past day
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Expert: Israel’s virus levels so bad many countries would’ve already locked down
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Ministers told hospitals could be overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients in 2 weeks
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Abbas meets Hamas, Islamic Jihad terror heads, says he won’t engage with US plan
September 3, 2020
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Security and business: Israel charts potential of ties with 3 more Gulf states
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Israel coronavirus czar warns of local lockdowns as nearly 3,000 cases recorded in past week
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Israel’s Coronavirus czar Gamzu says 'Israel is at war', tough decisions afoot as virus spreads
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Jerusalem records highest temperature in city since 1942
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Israel has highest rate in world of new coronavirus infections per capita — TV
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Severe weather threat for 59 million, dangerous heat for US West heading into Labor Day weekend
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Trump campaign bracing for legal battle over election, forming ‘coalition’ of lawyers
September 4, 2020
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Netanyahu decries ‘false allegation’ he secretly okayed F-35 jet sales to UAE
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Israel roasts in ongoing extreme heat wave, day after Jerusalem hotter than ever
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Israel readies for High Holidays without foreign visitors
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Heatwave causes power outages across Israel
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Checklist of Middle East countries and normalization: Will Arab Peace Initiative replace the Trump Peace to Prosperity Plan?
Bahrain: On August 25, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa said he told Pompeo that his country remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the territories captured in 1967 in exchange for peace and the full normalization of relations. – Jerusalem Post
UAE: On August 31, Al-Musharakh the director of the Emirati Foreign Ministry’s policy planning department stressed that the “halting of annexation was a prerequisite” to the normalization deal announced last month. “We remain with the Arab consensus and Arab resolutions,” he told The Times of Israel in response to a question on Abu Dhabi’s position on the Arab Peace Initiative, which offered Israel full normalization with the entire Muslim world after a peace agreement is reached with the Palestinians based on the 1967 lines.
“What we did was halt the annexation. The ultimate end solution is to find a sustainable solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” al-Musharakh went on. – Times of Israel
Saudi Arabia: On Tuesday, September 2, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with senior adviser to the US president, Jared Kushner, to discuss regional stability. Talks covered the prospects for the peace process in the region and the need to resume negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides “to achieve a just and lasting peace,” the SPA state news agency reported. – Arab News
Oman: On Wednesday, August 26, Pompeo met with Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said on the importance of building regional peace, stability, and prosperity through a united Gulf Cooperation Council. Grateful for our strong security partnership and economic ties.
Qatar: On September 2, Sheik Tamim told Kushner that Qatar remains committed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, in which Arab nations offered Israel normalized ties in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war. – Jerusalem Post
Kuwait: In U.S.-friendly Kuwait, legislators are pushing through a law that would prohibit normalization and impose a boycott on Israeli goods. “Kuwait has not changed its position, and it will be the last country to normalize with Israel,” an unnamed government official was quoted as saying in the daily newspaper Al Qabas. – Reuters
Palestinians: The Palestinian Authority said that any normalization with Israel should be based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative on the principle of "land for peace" and not "peace for peace" as Israel calls. – Anadolu Agency
Egypt: On September 2, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi threw his support behind the burgeoning Israeli normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates and spoke against any efforts to annex portions of the West Bank, during a phone call Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Sky News Arabia – Jerusalem Post