Ex-Obama adviser Ben Rhodes slammed on Twitter for downplaying Israel-UAE peace agreement
'The mullahs couldn't ask for a better mouthpiece,' one Twitter user wrote of ex-deputy national security adviser
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ben Rhodes, a former deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, received a wave of criticism on Thursday after he attempted to downplay a peace accord between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
"This agreement enshrines what has been the emerging status quo in the region for a long time (including the total exclusion of Palestinians)," Rhodes tweeted. "Dressed up as an election eve achievement from two leaders who want Trump to win."
TRUMP ANNOUNCES 'HISTORIC PEACE AGREEMENT' BETWEEN ISRAEL, UAE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rhodes is perhaps best known for his advocacy of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which Trump withdrew the United States in May 2018.
Many Twitter users suggested Rhodes was bitter about the Trump administration achieving even a partial Middle East peace agreement, something which eluded the Obama administration.
"@BenRhodes will be nominated for the #SourGrapes Award," tweeted K.T. McFarland, former deputy national security adviser under Trump.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted that the "Obama crew is unhappy that this deal (1) is good for Israel, (2) doesn’t give $$ to Iran, and (3) doesn’t undermine America."
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The agreement makes the UAE the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have full diplomatic ties with Israel.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the deal amounts to “treason,” and should be reversed. In Gaza, Hamas called the deal a “stabbing in the back of our people.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.