“Thanks to the efforts of these individuals, the region will never be the same as it finally moves beyond the conflicts of the past,” the White House said in a statement.
Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed wave from the White House balcony after a signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House on Septem
(photo credit: REUTERS//TOM BRENNER)
President Donald Trump gave national security awards on Wednesday to several top advisers for their role in helping broker agreements aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and four countries in the Arab world.
Trump awarded the National Security Medal to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, senior adviser Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and John Rakolta, U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
In the past four months, Israel reached deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as part of what the United States calls “the Abraham Accords.”
Senior U.S. officials are hoping to seal one more agreement before Trump’s term expires on Jan. 20.
The president’s authority to award the National Security Medal dates to 1953, under an executive order that allows for recognition for major contributions in the field of national security.