President Joe Biden's nominee for the top Middle East role at the US Agency for International Development came under fire on Thursday for her previous criticism of the Abraham Accords.
Appearing at a Senate confirmation hearing, Tamara Cofman Wittes, who would oversee the distribution of aid across the Middle East, was grilled by several Republican senators over comments she made when the UAE and Israel signed the historic normalisation agreement.
Todd Young, a senator from Indiana, said Ms Wittes had written on her now-private Twitter account in 2020 that the deal was “oversold” and that Middle Eastern countries normalising relations with Israel was a “betrayal of Palestinian interests”.
Mr Young said Ms Wittes had also tweeted in support of an article saying the agreement was a “triumph for authoritarianism”.
The Abraham Accords - in pictures
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Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, speaks to Donald Trump, US president at the time, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office in September 2020. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, meets Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state at the time. Wam -
Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Pompeo in Washington. Wam -
Sheikh Abdullah visits Washington in September last year. Wam -
Sheikh Abdullah, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, US President Donald Trump, centre, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sign the Abraham Accord at the White House South Lawn. MOFAIC -
Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump at the White House. MOFAIC -
Sheikh Abdullah, Mr Al Zayani and Mr Netanyahu at the White House during the Abraham Accord signing ceremony. MOFAIC -
Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Netanyahu, Mr Trump and Mr Al Zayani wave from the Truman Balcony at the White House. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Al Zayani, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump sign the Abraham Accord. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Al Zayani, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump after the signing ceremony. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Al Zayani, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump after the signing ceremony. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah speaks from the Truman Balcony at the White House during the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accord. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah speaks as Mr Trump looks on before the signing of Abraham Accord on the South Lawn of the White House. AP -
Sheikh Abdullah looks on from the White House as Mr Trump speaks at the Abraham Accord signing ceremony, also attended by Mr Al Zayani and Mr Netanyahu. AP -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani stand on the Blue Room Balcony during the signing ceremony. AP -
Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Al Zayani shortly before participating in the signing of the Abraham Accord. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah, with Mr Netanyahu, left, and Mr Al Zayani at the signing of the Abraham Accord on the South Lawn of the White House. AFP -
US President Donald Trump speaks from the Truman Balcony at the White House during the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accord. AFP -
President Donald Trump walks to the Abraham Accord signing ceremony at the White House with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani. AP -
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at the White House to attend the Abraham Accord signing ceremony hosted by President Donald Trump. EPA -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House before the signing of Abraham Accord. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in the Oval Office. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah with Mr Trump in the Oval Office. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, with by President Donald Trump at the White House. Mustafa Alrawi / The National -
The UAE delegation led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Mustafa Alrawi / The National -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, is welcomed to the White House by US President Donald Trump. EPA -
Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Trump outside the White House. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed speaks to Mr Trump after arriving at the White House. Reuters -
White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner walks away following a television interview on the North Lawn at the White House in Washington. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome the arrival of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington DC. AFP -
A delegation of senior UAE officials led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, prepares to depart for the White House to sign the Abraham Accord. MOFAIC -
US President Donald Trump welcomes Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani. AFP -
Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani arrives at the White House in Washington DC. AFP -
US President Donald Trump welcomes Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP -
Preparations at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord. -
Preparations under way at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord. -
Preparations under way at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord. -
Preparation at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord. The National
The Abraham Accords, signed at the White House in 2020, normalised relations between the UAE and Israel. Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan soon followed suit.
Ms Wittes said she now supports the agreement.
“I support the profound transformation that they brought in the region. … They're a boon to the Israeli government, and to Israelis who have long felt isolated in their neighbourhood,” she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“That's the profound transformation we see not just at the government-to-government level, but at the people-to-people level, and it's very meaningful.”
When pressed, she said she had been wrong in at least part of her assessment of the Abraham Accords.
“I was sceptical that other countries would join the UAE in the Accords when the UAE first made its announcement in August of 2020,” Ms Wittes said.
“And I was wrong about that. We've seen Morocco, we've seen Sudan see buffering come in. That, I think, creates tremendous opportunity that we need to seize.”
In a sign her confirmation is likely to be split along partisan lines, Republican Ted Cruz also challenged Ms Wittes on her work at the Brookings Institution, where she was employed as a senior fellow in the Centre for Middle East Policy.
The influential think tank is at the centre of a controversy after its president, John Allen, resigned amid an FBI foreign lobbying investigation.
Court filings describe how the retired four-star general tried to help Qatar influence US policy in June 2017 when a diplomatic crisis erupted between the Gulf country and its neighbours.
A federal investigation involving Mr Allen has already ensnared Richard Olson, a former ambassador to the UAE and Pakistan who pleaded guilty to federal charges earlier this month.
“The president of Brookings resigned in a scandal because he's facing an investigation for being an undisclosed lobbyist for Qatar,” Mr Cruz said.
“To what extent did you participate in fundraising from Qatar?”
Ms Wittes said she had no knowledge of any of the “disturbing allegations” regarding Mr Allen but noted that some of her work was funded by foreign governments, among them Qatar. She stressed her work was independent and free of any influence.
Though Ms Wittes was nominated to the position about a year ago, Republicans — particularly Mr Cruz — have stalled her confirmation and that of dozens of other nominees.
