JERUSALEM

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in Tel Aviv on Wednesday celebrated the first anniversary of the normalization of relations with Israel.

“Peace is the Future of our Children” read banners in Arabic, English and Hebrew on the streets in Tel Aviv and west Jerusalem.

“The UAE Embassy in Israel launched a campaign in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to mark the first anniversary of the Abraham Accords,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Arabic-language Twitter account tweeted.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid commented on the tweet saying, “For the future. For our children.”

On Sept. 15, 2020, the UAE and Israel signed a US-sponsored agreement to normalize their diplomatic relations.

The UAE was joined by three other Arab states – Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – in normalizing relations with Israel in what came to be known as the Abraham Accords. For Palestinians, the move was a “stab in the back.”

There was no festive mood of the anniversary in Israel as the country is marking the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which is considered the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar. It is traditionally observed with a day-long fast and special services held at synagogues.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara