On Thursday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a peace agreement with the UAE, he became the third Israeli PM to make peace with an Arab nation. The other two are Egypt and Jordan who signed a deal with the Jewish state in 1979 and 1994 respectively.
The historic announcement caught Israel by surprise and many Tweeps took to social media to congratulate the prime minister on the achievement.
Historic Achievement
"Netanyahu, you are great! You rise above them all! Thank you", wrote one Twitter user.
אתה נתניהו ענק ענק ענק משיכמו ומעלה מעל כולם ! תודה! ❤️❤️❤️❤️💪💪💪🇮🇱😘😘🇮🇱🇮🇱🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
— Shoula Romano-Horing🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@RomanoHoring) August 14, 2020
"Prime Minister Netanyahu proved once again that real peace is made out of a position of power. He also proved that the left-wing's approach of 'territories for peace' has passed. A historic day!"
ראש הממשלה נתניהו שוב מוכיח ששלום אמיתי עושים מתוך עצומה ושהגישה של השמאל של ״שטחים תמורת שלום״ חלפה מהעולם. יום היסטורי
— Topaz Luk 🇮🇱 (@TopazLuk) August 13, 2020
Following the announcement, Netanyahu's Likud started climbing in the polls, with the country's Channel 13 predicting that the PM would get 33 of the Knesset's 120 seats if elections were held today.
Although it is still lower than Netanyahu's achievement in March, when he received 36 seats, his supporters say it is a good enough reason to celebrate, and they're using the momentum to lash out at left-wing circles for not being appreciative of Bibi's success.
"I understand the difficulty of the left-wing camp to swallow the peace deal with the Emirates. Netanyahu is the third Israeli PM to bring Israel such a treaty. Unbelievable", wrote Yakov Ahimeir, one of the Jewish state's most renowned journalists.
אני בהחלט מבין לליבם של חוגי שמאל המתקשים לבלוע את ההסכם עם האמירויות. נתניהו - ראה'מ השלישי שעושה שלום עם מדינה ערבית?! לא יאומן.
— yakovahimeir (@yakovahimeir) August 15, 2020
Others chose to focus on the multiple benefits such an agreement could bring to the Jewish state.
"[A pact with the] Emirates is important for our economy and for our security, especially considering the threat of Iran. It is important for regional security. For balancing the anti-Semitic Arab League...[it is better than - ed.] making peace with illiterate peasants [e.g. Palestinians] who received everything from us but opted for waging war and terror...", one Tweep wrote.
אמירויות חשובה לכלכלה, לביטחון מול איראן, ליציבות האזור, ליציבות הליגה הערבית האנטישמית, הכל טוב.
— מוטי ברעם לוחם מושבע של ישראל השנייה (@nf9L028nDoaBqi4) August 15, 2020
לעשות שלום עם פלאחים בורים צמאי דם שקיבלו את הכל ונתנו לנו רציחות ופיגועים זה תורם וענייני.
כן תורם לשמאל הרווי שנאה לבני עמו לשעבר מישראל השנייה.
הרי כל מי שמעריץ אותנו שנוא עליכם pic.twitter.com/yI5p7X2s5J
According to reports, the leaders of Israel and the UAE are expected to meet in "the upcoming weeks" to sign an official peace treaty that will pave the way for the mutual opening of embassies, direct flights, and various trade agreements.
One such agreement was signed on Saturday, when the Emirati company APEX National Investment inked a "strategic commercial agreement" with Israel's Tera Group to cooperate on research and development related to COVID-19.
Less Enthusiasm
Others are reportedly on their way but that doesn't seem to impress many Israeli Twitter users, who vented their anger at the PM for distracting the public's attention from the nation's problems, the most important of which is the raging pandemic that has already claimed the lives of more than 600 Israelis and shows no signs of weakening.
"We have a PM, who has no idea how to tackle the crisis. And instead of coping with it, he chooses to focus on a peace agreement with a country that we don't have any common borders with. Nor did we have any wars with that state. So now instead of shouting Iran, Iran, Iran he will be shouting Emirates, Emirates, Emirates", one user penned.
מה לא ברור ? יש פה ראש ממשלה שאין לו מושג איך לנהל את המשבר, ובמקום זה מתעסק באיזה הסכם שלום עם מדינה שאין לנו גבולות איתה ואין מלחמות איתה.
— David Carmeli (@Maccabi2015) August 15, 2020
במקום אירן אירן אירן
אמירויות אמירויות אמירויות
"If you don't have bread, eat Emirates. The peace presented by Netanyahu will not pay your debts in the supermarket, it will not help you come back to work, it will not assist you to reopen your business. Neither will it bail you out when the bank comes to take your flat as you failed to pay your loans", a fellow Twitterian weighed in.
אם אין לחם
— אבישי מתיה (@Benadam2019) August 14, 2020
תאכלו אמירויות
השלום של ביבי לא ישלם לכם את החוב במכולת, לא יעזור לכם לחזור מחל"ת, לא יפתח מחדש את העסק שסגרתם, לא יציל אתכם מעיקולים, ולא יעזור לכם מול הבנק שייקח לכם את הבית כשלא תוכלו לשלם עליו את המשכנתא
Economic problems were not Israeli Tweeps only concerns. Some used the opportunity to remind Netanyahu that his tenure in office is no longer wanted because of his corruption charges in a series of graft probes that include buying positive press and receiving illegal gifts from a rich donor.
"You thought that we forgot that you are corrupt? You thought that [because of the peace deal - ed.] we will embrace and hug you? You are a liar. You lie to the left, and to the right. You lie to your wives, you always lie. Go away from here. You failed in tackling the coronavirus crisis. You failed in economy, in education, in health. Failure. Go", another social media user tweeted.
פח.. גם אם תסובב את זה 100 פעמים, ויתרת על שטחים ועל הסיפוח. וטוב שכך.
— urire (@urireh) August 14, 2020
מה חשבת, שנשכח שאתה מושחת? שנחבק אותך באהבה. אתה משקר לכולם תמיד, גם לשמאל, גם לימין, גם לנשותיך מאז ומעולם.
לך מפה. נכשלת בקורונה, בכלכלה, בחינוך, בבריאות. כשלון. לך
Calls urging Netanyahu to resign have become frequent in recent weeks, with thousands taking to the streets across Israel over the weekend, demanding the "corrupt prime minister" relinquish power.
Although Netanyahu denies the allegations levelled at him, claiming that he is being persecuted by left-wing circles who want to topple a legitimate PM, the crowds that gather outside of his official residence in Jerusalem on almost a daily basis do not buy his claims.
And despite his historic achievement, many still insist that they will square accounts with him.
"We will bake you cookies with an Emirati flag and pass them on to you when you are in prison. One hand is making peace, the other is imposing dictatorship (under the auspices of peace)...", one user wrote.
נכין לו עוגת אמירויות שיהיה בכלא.
— Lizzy (@LizzyFinigen) August 15, 2020
יד אחת עושה שלום
יד אחת עושה דיקטטורה (בחסות השלום!)
פיטורי יועץ בדרך.
מה תגיד אז?
היה שווה?
"This will be his political asylum. The Emirates in the Persian Gulf. This is where he is going to escape to from the prison sentence that he will get here".
המקלט המדיני של ביבייהו:
— Pini Nagel (@NagelPini) August 15, 2020
אמירויות המפרץ הפרסי.
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