Netanyahu, UAE leader nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday that he and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

The prime minister’s office said the leaders were nominated by David Trimble, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland who won in 1998 for his work on the Northern Ireland peace process, Bloomberg reported.

“Pursuant to the rules of the Nobel Prize Committee, since Lord Trimble is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, his decision to submit Prime Minister Netanyahu’s candidacy will lead the committee to discuss the issue,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

The UAE-Israeli deal, reached in October, was followed by a similar agreement between Israel and Bahrain. Most Arab states have historically boycotted the country in solidarity with the Palestinians, but several leaders have sought a united front with Israel against their mutual enemies in Iran.

While Saudi Arabia has yet to normalize relations, Israeli Education Minister Yoav Galant said Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Sunday. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan has since denied any such meeting took place.

Netanyahu would be the third Israeli prime minister to receive the honor if he wins. Menachem Begin won in 1978 with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for a U.S.-brokered peace treaty. Yitzhak Rabin shared it with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres and then-Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat in 1994 for their work on the Israel-Palestine peace process.