Israel signs normalization deals with UAE and Bahrain at White House ceremony
15 September 2020
President Trump presided over U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates at the White House on Tuesday, cementing formal diplomatic ties between the countries through deals with few public details.
The big picture: Trump, who declared "the dawn of a new Middle East" at the signing alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the UAE, hopes the historic event will "cast him as a peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign," AP reports.
What they're saying: “We’re here this afternoon to change the course of history,” Trump said on the White House South Lawn. “After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East.”
- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. President, this day is a pivot of history. It heralds a new dawn of peace. For thousands of years, the Jewish people have prayed for peace. For decades the Jewish state has prayed for peace. ... To all of Israel's friends in the Middle East, those who are with us today and those who will join us tomorrow, I say: As-salamu alaykum. Peace unto thee. Shalom!"
- UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, thank you for choosing peace and for halting annexation of Palestinian territories. That position reinforces our shared goal to achieve better future for generations to come."
- BahrainForeign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani: "The declaration supporting peace between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the state of Israel is an historic step on the road to genuine and lasting peace, security and prosperity across the region and for all who live there regardless of religion, sect, ethnicity or ideology."
Go deeper: UAE minister says Israel agreement will include two-state solution reference
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.