Reports of trade between Pakistan and Israel were called “sheer propaganda” on Saturday by the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Commerce Minister, Naveed Qamar.
This reply was given in response to charges made by the American Jewish Congress that a shipment of food from Pakistan had been sent to Israel by Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel Benkhald. Benkhald posted a video of the things he had “exported” to Israel on Twitter, including dates, dried fruit, and spices.
Trade with Israel
The Pakistani government did not support the trade relations, according to the country’s minister of commerce, who also denies having any official economic links with Israel. Pakistan supports the creation of a Palestinian state that is independent of Israel.
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The spokesperson said that without the assistance of the Pakistani government or through official channels, Benkhald distributed the food samples to merchants in Jerusalem and Haifa in his “personal capacity.” The spokesperson added that recent tariff reductions by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on items traded with Israel had benefited UAE-to-Israel businesses.
Abraham Accords
Under the Abraham Accords, which were mediated by the Trump administration to improve relations between Israel and other Middle Eastern states, the UAE and Israel established diplomatic ties in 2020.
The United States sponsored the official Abraham Accords signing event at the White House on September 15, 2020. Israel’s sovereignty was acknowledged by Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as part of the dual accords, which allowed for the opening of full diplomatic ties.
Israel’s establishment of diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain marked the first instance of Arab–Israeli normalization since 1994 when the Israel–Jordan peace treaty came into effect. The Abraham Accords were signed by Bahraini foreign minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani and Emirati foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan vis-à-vis Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with American president Donald Trump as a witness. They were negotiated by Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner and Kushner’s assistant Avi Berkowitz.
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