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US House passes bill to establish special envoy for advancing Abraham Accords
June 14, 2023
Vote comes days after Blinken said administration already planning to create position, demonstrating determination in Congress to leave footprint on Israel normalization effort
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation on Tuesday mandating the Biden administration to appoint a special envoy for the Abraham Accords.
The special envoy will be tasked with encouraging additional countries to follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020.
The envoy will also be expected to strengthen those existing agreements between Israel and Muslim-majority countries while “coordinating efforts across the US government and engaging diplomatically with foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders,” reads the bipartisan legislation introduced by Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres and Republican Rep. Michael Lawler.