Is The Stunning Peace Deal Between Israel And The UAE A Prelude To Formally Dividing The Land Of Israel?

I’m republishing this article by Michael Snyder https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4231as it describes the recent peace treaty between Israel and the UAE in a clear and concise manner. God is moving sovereignly in the Middle East and it will take years for this to play out.

Last week’s surprise announcement of a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates caught just about everyone by surprise.  I hadn’t heard anything about a potential deal in the works, and the mainstream media in the western world was completely blindsided by the deal.  But this has become Israel’s pattern in recent decades.  The Oslo Accords, Israel’s peace deal with Jordan and other agreements were negotiated under a cloak of total secrecy because officials didn’t want public sentiment to potentially destroy negotiations.  And there could potentially be other “peace deals” in the works right now that we don’t know anything about.

President Trump is touting this as a major diplomatic victory, and he is hoping that it will sway some votes in November.  At this juncture, Trump is trailing badly in most polls and he needs another miracle like we witnessed in 2016.

But it was really Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was the driving force behind this deal.  He has been seeking to build relations with the UAE for many, many years, and this deal is the culmination of those efforts.

In order to get this deal, however, Netanyahu had to agree not to annex any land in the West Bank…

The United Arab Emirates has normalised relations with Israel in a historic US-brokered deal that “suspends” Israeli annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The surprise agreement, initially announced by the US president, Donald Trump, makes the UAE the first Gulf country and only the third Arab nation in the world to have active diplomatic ties with Israel, joining Egypt and Jordan.

annexed those lands, it would have killed any international efforts to create a Palestinian state.

But now that annexation is completely dead, the potential for a “peace deal” that would create a Palestinian state is very much alive.

According to the New York Times, the relationship between Israel and the UAE “had been building quietly for years”, and according to a British news source this peace agreement will also open a door for “deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and healthcare”…

A joint statement from the US, the UAE and Israel said delegations will meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and healthcare.

They are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies and a signing ceremony is due to be held at the White House.

Ultimately, peace in the Middle East is something that we should all want, but at what cost has it been achieved?

It appears that West Bank annexation will never happen now, and we are being told that Netanyahu “traded it away” for a goal that was even more important to him…

In an ironic twist, that plan became the catalyst that finally gave Mr. Netanyahu the opening he had long sought. With pressure building for him to drop the annexation plan, he traded it away for something he wanted even more.

This may help Netanyahu win some moderate votes in the next election, but there are many conservatives in Israel that feel like they have been played and are not happy with Netanyahu right now at all.

Of course Netanyahu is not going to stop with the UAE.  According to Reuters, Bahrain and Oman could also soon normalize relations with Israel…

Bahrain and Oman could be the next Gulf countries to follow the United Arab Emirates in formalising ties with Israel, Israel’s intelligence minister said on Sunday.

In fact, Netanyahu has actually publicly admitted that he has been speaking with the leaders of Oman and “other countries” in the region…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday that he has been speaking with leaders from Arab countries in addition to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following the American-mediated peace deal announced last week between the two countries.

He stated that he spoke with political leaders in Oman and “other countries,” and that the key to such discussions is discretion.

In the end, many believe that all of this diplomacy is all about Iran.

In recent years, Netanyahu has relentlessly been attempting to unite as much of the Middle East as possible against Iran.  The Israelis believe that a conflict with Iran is probably inevitable, and so they would like to isolate the Iranians as much as they can.

Of course many Sunni governments in the region have long been hostile toward the radical Shiite regime in Tehran.  In particular, the Saudis would love to see the Iranian “problem” go away, and so they have a strategic interest in working with Israel toward that goal.

As Israel and the various Sunni governments across the Middle East become increasingly cozy, could this create an environment that will eventually lead to an agreement to create a Palestinian state?

I think that this is a very important question to ask at this point.

Needless to say, most of the rest of the world would greatly rejoice if a peace agreement could be reached that would finally create a Palestinian state, dividing the land of Israel. Many had assumed that a conservative like Netanyahu would never be willing to give up land for an agreement that would guarantee “lasting peace”, but the agreement that he just reached with the UAE may suggest otherwise.

If Netanyahu is willing to permanently sacrifice dreams of annexing portions of Judea and Samaria for a peace agreement with the UAE, what would he be willing to do for a comprehensive peace agreement with all of the Sunni governments in the region?

Peace can be a very seductive mistress, and I have a feeling that we are about to see things happen in the Middle East that many thought would never be possible.

Additional Notes:

Many Bible Prophecy experts have been watching for the emergence of an agreement/covenant between Israel and "many" for a period of seven years.  This prophetic event is found in Daniel 9:27.  The signing of such an agreement will introduce the final 7 year period laid out in Daniel's 70 Weeks prophecy which is often called the Tribulation period.  

It is during this period that the majority of the events of the book of Revelation are fulfilled.  Of particular importance in this 7 year timeline is what is often called the "abomination of desolation" which involves the Antichrist desecrating the rebuilt Jewish temple 3.5 years after this agreement is signed, stopping the sacrifices.

People have begun to wonder if this new agreement with the UAE will play a role in the fulfillment of this prophecy.  It is possible but at this point it is far from fulfilling the many requirements of Daniel's prophecy.  Here is a breakdown of what Daniel 9:27 describes vs what we see happening today:

1. Israel's agreement with "many".  - At this point it is only the UAE however there is speculation that Bahrain, Oman, Morocco and Saudi Arabia may all be future participants.  If expanded to other nations it would meet the requirement of the "many".

2. It is a treaty that will be "confirmed", suggesting the guaranteeing or ratifying of an existing treaty.  This treaty may possibly set the stage for an initial agreement that is later confirmed or guaranteed by an outside party (The Antichrist).

3. "He" - who is the "he" that confirms this treaty and breaks it 3.5 years later by desecrating the Jewish temple?  The Bible describes him as "the Beast" in Revelation 13 - or Antichrist as he is commonly called and he is to be the leader of a 10 king/10 nation confederacy.  There is no current world leader who heads up a 10 nation confederacy or meets the other requirements described of the Antichrist.

4. "seven years" - The treaty in Daniel is described as being for a period of one seven or seven years.  This treaty doesn't meet that requirement in it's current form.  Most treaties signed these days are for an indeterminate time - meant to be long lasting.  It seems unlikely that any new agreement would be only for 7 years.  Why this treaty in Daniel would be for 7 years remains a mystery.

5. "abomination of desolation" - in order to desecrate the temple and stop the sacrifice 3.5 years after the agreement - you have to have a temple built in the first place.  There are significant developments to help bring about the restoration of the temple and include everything from training Temple priests and creating temple instruments - to the hope that qualifying red heifers have been found as we included in today's newsletter.  Will efforts to rebuild the Jewish temple be part of a future peace agreement?  It seems unlikely in the near future so this remains a major hurdle.

A more likely scenario.  The War of Pslam 83 - then Daniel 9:27 peace.

This agreement with the UAE is likely first step to peace with the gulf nations including Saudi Arabia.  All of these nations live in fear of Iran and Israel could be their most strategic ally to counter Iran's aggression. 

Note it is only a verbal protest as these nations are not strong enough militarily to take on Iran let alone any other invading nations.  Why does the Bible even bother to mention their protest?  It could very well be to signify this new direction by some Arab states to make peace with Israel. 

The conflict described in Psalm 83 which has many of Israel's neighbors coming against Israel is a war that results in their defeat.  After the defeat of so many nations who come against Israel it would not be surprising to see a larger peace treaty that involves a limited time (7 years) and the restoration of the Jewish temple - as the Arab world would no longer be strong enough to oppose it.  

The world would demand of course that an agreement be ratified/guaranteed by an outside power - such as the leader of this new 10 nation alliance (yet to be seen on the world stage).

Ultimately these are speculations to how things might play out but God's ways are not our ways and we can't put God in a box of newspaper headlines. However we need to be aware of what the Bible says will happen in the last days and while the details as to how we get there may be foggy - God will be faithful to fulfill them.
Additional reading...many Arab states disgruntled with Palestinians:
https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4233