White House Turns to Expanding Abraham Accords After Israel-Hamas Ceasefire
🌟 “Positive Momentum” Building Across Region
“There’s a lot of positive momentum that will pick up. Hopefully this will lead to much better sentiment and the opportunity to expand the Abraham Accords — to really just change the tone in the region.”
— Senior White House Administration Official
The Abraham Accords Legacy
During President Donald Trump’s first administration, the Abraham Accords brought the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco into normal relations with Israel—a diplomatic achievement many considered impossible just years earlier. The agreements fundamentally reshaped Middle Eastern geopolitics and created new economic, security, and cultural partnerships across traditional divides.
Current Abraham Accords Members
Countries that normalized relations with Israel under the original Abraham Accords (2020):
Saudi Arabia: The Prize That Got Away
Saudi Arabia had been next on the list during Trump’s first term. A senior administration official revealed the frustrating near-miss that followed:
Now, with the ceasefire in place and positive momentum building, the Trump administration sees a renewed opportunity to complete what they started—bringing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords framework.
Next Wave: Countries in Line for Normalization
An administration official pointed to a range of countries that could be next in line for normalization with Israel:
How Gaza Ceasefire Changes Everything
The ceasefire agreement has created a fundamentally different diplomatic environment. Israel began drawing down its troop presence in Gaza on Friday under phase one of the agreement but will continue to occupy roughly 53% of the territory until the next phase. Hamas has 72 hours to release the remaining hostages, living and dead.
Regional Sentiment Shift
The successful ceasefire has dramatically improved regional mood and created openness to diplomatic engagement that was impossible during active conflict
Arab State Confidence
Arab nations now see a pathway to engagement with Israel that doesn’t compromise their support for Palestinian interests
Economic Opportunities
Normalization opens massive trade, investment, and development opportunities across the region worth billions
U.S. Troops to Monitor Peace Agreement
Roughly 200 U.S. troops already stationed in the Middle East will be sent to Israel to oversee the ceasefire and ensure humanitarian aid flows into Gaza.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized: “Up to 200 U.S. personnel, who are already stationed at CENTCOM, will be tasked with monitoring the peace agreement in Israel, and they will work with other international forces on the ground.”
Jared Kushner Returns as Key Peace Architect
Good news for Middle East peace: Jared Kushner has reentered the political spotlight as a top envoy for the Trump White House in efforts to secure peace deals in the Middle East, highlighting both his influence in the region and his unmatched diplomatic credentials.
Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law who served as a senior White House adviser in Trump’s first term and was the architect of the original Abraham Accords, has been on the sidelines of the second administration. But he has reemerged to take on a major role in one of Trump’s key foreign policy efforts.
His deep relationships with Gulf leaders and proven track record in regional diplomacy make him uniquely positioned to expand the Abraham Accords to new countries.
Abraham Accords: Past, Present & Future
Abraham Accords signed; UAE and Bahrain normalize relations with Israel
Sudan and Morocco join the Abraham Accords
Trump administration outlines Saudi normalization parameters; negotiations advance
Biden administration deprioritizes Saudi normalization; October 7 attack creates “black cloud”
Gaza war; normalization efforts stalled across region
Gaza ceasefire achieved; Trump administration announces Abraham Accords expansion as top priority
Next Phase: Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and multiple Arab states targeted for normalization
Bipartisan Congressional Support
Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Abraham Accords Caucus released a powerful statement welcoming the Middle East peace deal:
IL-10
MO-02
FL-25
TX-12
The Caucus emphasized their appreciation for “strong U.S. leadership across Democratic and Republican Administrations and staunch bipartisan support for Israel throughout the war.”
The Strategic Vision: Reshaping the Middle East
The end of the Gaza war may fundamentally reshape the Middle East and dramatically expand the Abraham Accords, which withstood the test of war despite initial expectations of collapse. The framework has proven resilient, and now stands ready for its next chapter of growth.
🤝 Diplomatic Transformation
From isolation to integration—Israel becomes a normal participant in regional affairs
💼 Economic Revolution
Trade corridors, joint ventures, and investment flows creating shared prosperity
🛡️ Security Cooperation
Joint defense against Iranian aggression and regional terror networks
🌍 Cultural Exchange
Tourism, education, and people-to-people connections building lasting bonds
Indonesia: The Game-Changer
The potential addition of Indonesia—the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation with a population of over 275 million—would represent a quantum leap for the Abraham Accords. Indonesian normalization would demonstrate that peace with Israel transcends Middle Eastern geography and could inspire Muslim-majority nations worldwide.
With Indonesia’s economic dynamism and democratic governance, normalization could create a powerful model for other Asian and African Muslim-majority countries considering relations with Israel.
The Path Forward
As the dust settles from the Gaza ceasefire, diplomats are already working behind the scenes to capitalize on the positive momentum. The trilateral mechanism with Qatar mentioned by officials signals the kind of creative diplomatic architecture the Trump administration is building.
The Abraham Accords Caucus statement captured the prevailing optimism: the devastation of war has given way to “the hope of Israelis and Palestinians alike as they look forward to a peaceful future and the end of Hamas’s reign of terror.”
With Jared Kushner back in the diplomatic arena, bipartisan congressional support, and Arab states signaling openness to engagement, the next 12-24 months could see the most dramatic expansion of Israeli-Arab peace since the original accords were signed in 2020.
The question is no longer whether the Abraham Accords will expand—but how far and how fast the transformation will go.
📰 Sources & Additional Reading
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