Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington Monday for crucial talks with President Donald Trump about Iran’s nuclear program and a potential Gaza ceasefire. However, foreign policy experts are urging the administration to use this high-stakes meeting to advance another critical objective: expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords.
The Abraham Accords, one of Trump’s signature foreign policy achievements from his first term, could provide the framework needed to transform temporary ceasefires into lasting regional stability, according to analysis from the Atlantic Council.
“A strategic approach to the Abraham Accords provides the architecture necessary for translating these ceasefires into more lasting stability in the Middle East,” writes Allison Minor, a Middle East expert at the Atlantic Council, in her recent analysis.
A Historic Opportunity for Regional Integration
The timing for Abraham Accords expansion appears particularly promising. With Iran’s ceasefire remaining fragile and any Gaza ceasefire likely to face similar challenges, the accords offer a different pathway forward—one focused on regional integration and economic cooperation rather than conflict management.
“The Abraham Accords envision a new Middle East defined by regional integration that unlocks the region’s economic potential and prevents further costly conflicts via mutually beneficial forms of cooperation, much in the way Europe did after World War II,” Minor explains.
A senior United Arab Emirates official recently emphasized that this dynamic moment presents the right opportunity to pursue a more ambitious Middle East agenda that could help break the region’s decades-long cycle of violence.
Three Key Priorities for the Trump-Netanyahu Meeting
Foreign policy experts recommend Trump and Netanyahu focus on three specific areas to maximize the Abraham Accords’ potential:
1. Israeli-Syrian Cooperation Through Coordinated Diplomacy
The most ambitious opportunity lies in exploring Israeli-Syrian cooperation. While normalization between the two countries—technically at war for over 75 years—won’t happen overnight, current circumstances present unprecedented openings.
“Syria’s current moment of transition, President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s highly pragmatic leadership approach, and support from crucial Gulf partners and the United States for de-escalation” have created unique conditions for progress, according to the Atlantic Council analysis.
Al-Sharaa has demonstrated commitment to reconciliation, including pressuring Hamas-affiliated leaders to leave Syria and granting the International Atomic Energy Agency full access to suspected nuclear sites. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have pledged financial support to Syria’s government, while the United States has removed many sanctions and appointed a special Syria envoy.
However, significant challenges remain. “Control over the Golan Heights, the fact that Israel has continued military operations inside Syrian territory citing terrorist threats that fall far outside the control of al-Sharaa’s government, Turkey’s expanding role in Syria, and Israeli concerns about the Druze and Kurdish minority communities” all present obstacles, Minor notes.
The expert recommends a “patient, coordinated, and phased approach” that begins with confidence-building measures rather than immediate normalization.
2. Strategic Dialogue on Iran and Gaza Goals
Israel’s Arab neighbors, including Abraham Accords partners like the UAE and Bahrain, are increasingly concerned about potential regional escalation. These countries worry that Israel may be pursuing “unbridled regional escalation, rather than targeted actions to address specific security threats from Iran and Hamas.”
Trump should encourage Netanyahu to engage in serious dialogue with Abraham Accords countries about Israeli objectives in both Iran and Gaza. These nations are essential to long-term solutions, whether through regional uranium enrichment consortiums or Arab Gulf support for Gaza reconstruction.
“Israel has an opportunity to demonstrate that it truly sees other Abraham Accords countries as partners by engaging them in strategic dialogue during this critical moment,” Minor argues.
3. Building a Strategic “Mini-Lateral” Framework
While bilateral coordination between Israel and Abraham Accords partners has continued since October 7, 2023, multilateral coordination has faltered. The current moment offers an opportunity to create a new “mini-lateral” framework that could transform the accords into a strategic network.
Such a framework could build on first-term Trump initiatives like the Middle East Strategic Alliance and existing structures like the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement.
“At a volatile time when the regional security landscape is shifting, such a framework can both adapt to those new realities and provide valuable assurances to partners about a more stable future,” according to the analysis.
Translating Momentum into Long-Term Vision
The expert emphasizes that adding Abraham Accords expansion to Monday’s agenda represents the best path forward for regional stability.
“Adding strengthening and expanding the Abraham Accords to the agenda is the best way to ensure the White House can help translate the major developments sweeping the Middle East into the vision for a new Middle East that Trump articulated during his visit to the region,” Minor concludes.
The Monday meeting comes at a critical juncture for Middle East diplomacy, with multiple ceasefires in various stages of negotiation and implementation. Whether Trump and Netanyahu can seize this moment to advance broader regional integration may determine the trajectory of Middle East peace efforts for years to come.
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