Former Vice President Mike Pence marked the fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords by urging the United States to broaden the diplomatic agreements, saying the pacts have preserved ties between Israel and Arab states even during the war that followed Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
In an opinion piece published on Fox News, Pence credited the Trump administration’s role in bringing Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain together on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 15, 2020, and said the accords proved resilient amid regional strains. He wrote that Morocco and Sudan later joined the circle of normalized relations and argued that further expansion, particularly to include Saudi Arabia, should be a U.S. priority.
The Abraham Accords were announced in 2020 as a series of agreements to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states. The original ceremony on the South Lawn included then-President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign ministers from the UAE and Bahrain. Pence said the accords represented a new model of peacemaking driven by strategic partnership rather than protracted bilateral negotiations.
Pence highlighted several concrete consequences he said flowed from the accords: increased trade measured in billions of dollars, new commercial ventures, direct flights between Tel Aviv and Gulf cities such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and a rise in Israeli tourists visiting countries where Jewish communities had been expelled or marginalized in previous decades. He also said ambassadors from some signatory states remained in Israel and governments kept diplomatic and trade ties intact after the Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
The opinion piece framed the accords as an achievement of U.S. leadership and a counterweight to regional threats, saying the agreements undermined the isolation of Israel in the Arab world. Pence called on a future U.S. administration to "reaffirm our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security" and to make enlargement of the accords a central foreign policy goal.
Pence criticized the approach of the Biden administration in his essay, asserting that it did "virtually nothing" to expand the circle of peace and that the accords had stagnated. The former vice president urged renewed American engagement to encourage additional Arab states to normalize relations with Israel, singling out Saudi Arabia as a potential and consequential partner.
The accords and their expansion have generated debate among policymakers, diplomats and observers. Supporters point to increased economic ties and strategic alignment among signatory states as evidence of a shifting regional order. Critics contend that the agreements sidestepped longstanding Palestinian demands for statehood and that normalization has not resolved core Israeli-Palestinian issues.
Since 2020, Morocco and Sudan announced steps toward normalization with Israel, though the pace and depth of ties have varied. Saudi Arabia has shown intermittent public signals of outreach to Israel, including covert security coordination reported by media outlets, but Riyadh has stopped short of formal recognition. Analysts and diplomats have noted that Saudi normalization would be complex and likely contingent on concessions related to Palestinian aspirations, regional security concerns and domestic political considerations in Gulf states.
The accords’ supporters also point to their strategic context. Regional rivalries—most notably concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and proxy activities—have been a factor driving greater alignment between Israel and several Arab states. Economically, proponents underscore investment, technology partnerships and aviation links as creating interdependence that could reduce incentives for conflict.
At the same time, the Israel-Gaza war following the Oct. 7 attacks reshaped diplomatic calculations across the region. Some governments that had normalized ties maintained official relations with Israel, while others condemned Israeli military actions or faced domestic pressure to do so. Analysts have said the long-term durability of the accords will depend on how signatory states balance strategic interests with public opinion and humanitarian concerns.
As the anniversary is observed, calls for widening the accords reflect a broader U.S. debate over the role of diplomacy, deterrence and alliance-building in the Middle East. Pence’s essay represents one view that credits the 2020 agreements with opening a path to greater regional integration and urges continued American leadership to convert those openings into a broader, more enduring peace.