Gulf States refers to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The second half of 2020 has seen an accelerated rate of normalisation of ties with Israel by Gulf states. The “Abraham Accords” were signed with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August, and Bahrain a month later normalising ties with Israel. 

Normalising relations includes but isn’t limited to resuming diplomatic ties, trade and investment agreements, technology and security agreements, etc. Oman and Saudi Arabia have established semi-official relations with Israel, with Saudi Arabia gauging the prospect of normalisation. Before August 2020, only two Arab countries had official ties with Israel – Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.