Trump presides as Israel and Arab states sign historic pacts

President Donald Trump walks to the Abraham Accords signing ceremony at the White House (Alex Brandon/AP)

Donald Trump has presided over the signing of historic diplomatic pacts between Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that he hopes will lead to a new order in the Middle East and cast him as a peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign.

Hundreds of people amassed on the sun-washed South Lawn to witness the signing of agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.