Muslim-majority nations resist joining Abraham Accords despite Trump pressure

Despite Donald Trump's push to expand the Abraham Accords, Muslim-majority countries remain hesitant to normalise relations with Israel. Analysts suggest Trump's efforts may be aimed more at domestic political audiences than achieving genuine diplomatic breakthroughs. The broader regional context, including the Gaza conflict, is further complicating any potential agreements.

Despite renewed pressure from Donald Trump to expand the Abraham Accords, Muslim-majority nations across the Middle East and beyond are showing little appetite for normalising diplomatic relations with Israel. The accords, originally brokered during Trump's first term in 2020, brought Bahrain, the UAE, Sudan, and Morocco into formal ties with Israel — but further expansion has stalled.

Regional Resistance Remains Strong

Key potential partners such as Saudi Arabia, which was widely seen as the most significant prize in any expansion effort, have indicated that normalisation without meaningful progress toward Palestinian statehood is politically untenable. The ongoing conflict in Gaza has hardened public opinion across the Muslim world, making it even more difficult for governments to justify closer ties with Israel without facing severe domestic backlash.

Trump has made expanding the accords a stated foreign policy priority since returning to the White House, framing it as a cornerstone of his broader Middle East strategy. However, critics and regional analysts argue that the push lacks the diplomatic groundwork necessary to bring reluctant nations on board. Some observers note that the pressure campaign appears calibrated more toward satisfying pro-Israel constituencies within the United States than securing genuine geopolitical results.

Analysts Question the Strategy

Political analysts point out that the conditions that enabled the original Abraham Accords — shared concerns about Iran, economic incentives, and a relative lull in Israeli-Palestinian violence — are no longer as favourable. The war in Gaza has fundamentally altered the calculus for any Arab government considering normalisation, as the human cost of the conflict has drawn widespread condemnation across the region.

While the Trump administration continues to signal optimism about future agreements, the gap between American ambitions and regional realities remains significant. Without a credible path toward addressing Palestinian aspirations, diplomats and analysts widely agree that the Abraham Accords are unlikely to gain new signatories in the near term.