Consider the following statements: 1) Statement-I: Israel has established diplomatic relations with some Arab States. 2) Statement-II: The ‘Arab Peace Initiative’ mediated by Saudi Arabia was signed by Israel and Arab League. [2023]

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I: Israel has established diplomatic relations with some Arab States.
Statement-II: The ‘Arab Peace Initiative’ mediated by Saudi Arabia was signed by Israel and Arab League.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Explanation

Statement-I is correct

Israel has established diplomatic relations with some Arab States. Recently, in 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain made historic strides by officially normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel.
These breakthroughs were facilitated by the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements brokered by the United States.

Map showing Arab countries with diplomatic ties to Israel, highlighting Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in yellow as having ties before Abraham Accords, and Morocco, UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan in shades of red indicating ties established through Abraham Accords or pending finalization. Color-coded legend distinguishes timing and status of diplomatic relations, with key years labeled on each country

Additional Information

Abraham accord (Israel-Arab normalisation) is an agreement for normalising relations between Israel and four Arab countries:
- Bahrain (August 2020)
- United Arab Emirates (September 2020)
- Sudan
- Morocco
In 2020, Israel, UAE and Bahrain signed an agreement to normalise ties. The USA brokered it. Subsequently, Morocco and Sudan were added.
Recently, Kazakhstan has also officially joined the historic Abraham Accords.

What are Arab countries?

Arab” is a cultural and linguistic term. It refers to those who speak Arabic as their first language.
The Arab World consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries, and their primary languages are Farsi and Turkish, respectively.

Globe map highlighting countries in the Arab League in dark green across North Africa and the Middle East. The map shows geographic distribution and borders of member states, including a circled island country off East Africa

Image Source: Wikipedia

Statement-II is incorrect

Israel did not sign the Arab Peace Initiative, also known as the “Saudi Initiative,” which was put forth by Saudi Arabia in 2002 during the Arab League Summit in Beirut. The proposal, designed as a potential resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, received endorsement from the Arab League. However, Israel did not formally agree to the terms outlined in the initiative.

Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect; Difficulty Level: Medium

2023, PYQs