On April 1, Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a free trade agreement that covers 95 percent of economic activity between the two countries, projected to reach up to $1 trillion in value within the next ten years. “This milestone deal will build on the historic Abraham Accords and cement one of the world’s most important and promising emerging trading relationships,” said United Arab Emirates (UAE) minister of foreign trade Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.

The Abraham Accords, signed between Israel and the UAE in 2020, have effected a major shift in the region. While financial deals were previously viewed begrudgingly or conducted in secret, in the aftermath of the Accords, regional trade with Israel has exponentially increased, an unlikely coalition has formed in the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), and grand inter-regional infrastructure projects have been in production.

The Abraham Accords were designed to promote US — and, by extension, Israeli and Gulf — hegemony in the region through this rapid consolidation of economic and diplomatic partnerships. Now the United States is seizing the moment by boldly pushing its Arab allies toward diplomatic normalization with Israel, as reflected in the ham-fisted passage of Jared Kushner’s so-called “Deal of the Century.” It’s also banking on market interests to act as the diplomatic glue that brings these nations together in an economic bloc under its patronage, with little to no concessions made by Israel on the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.