Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC Dec. 4, “I brought four historic peace treaties, in ways that defied everybody else’s prognostications. … I’m going to bring peace. Categorically. I think I can get another breakthrough for peace.” 

In his interview last week with American journalist Bari Weiss on her Common Sense podcast, Netanyahu stressed his commitment to democratic rule and minority rights. The gist of his messages was that he will be in charge, personally charting the course of Israel’s foreign affairs and defense policies.

Busy with putting together his sixth government, Netanyahu is evidently also preoccupied with reassuring the international community over his Cabinet’s future policies. He keeps reminding everyone it was him who brought about the 2020 Abraham Accords with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, and the normalization of ties with Morocco and Sudan. More so, he is pledging to expand the Abraham Accords to more countries in the region.  

Reiterating his commitment to those landmark agreements, Netanyahu plans to hold his first foreign visit to the UAE rather than to Washington as he did in the past. “My first trip, I decided, will be to the United Arab Emirates, as a signal of my seriousness to expanding the peace,” Netanyahu told Weiss. A senior source close to Netanyahu told Al-Monitor that even before his government has been sworn in, preparations are already underway to coordinate Netanyahu’s UAE visit.