Palestinian officials denied Israel-Bahrain Generalization Agreement US President Donald Trump has declared the Arab nation another “back stab.”
Friday’s agreement to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and Bahrain comes a month after the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize relations with Israel under the United Brokerage Agreement.
The White House said Trump tweeted the news on Friday after King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Following the announcement at the White House, the State Department recalled its ambassador to Bahrain for Palestinian talks.
The agreement “causes the Palestinians and stabs the Palestinian people in the back”, Ahmed Mazdalani, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Minister of Social Affairs, told AFP.
In the occupied Gaza Strip, Bahrain’s decision to normalize relations with Israel “represents a serious threat to the Palestinian cause and supports the occupation,” said Hamas spokesman Hazeem Qassim.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Ramallah has occupied the West Bank, calling the generalization “another treacherous sword for the Palestinian cause.”
Palestinians fear that the moves by the UAE and Bahrain will weaken their long-standing Pan-Arab position, calling for Israel to secede from the occupied territory and accept the Palestinian state instead of normal relations with Arab countries.
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History of Arab-Israel Generalization |
“By normalizing relations with the occupation, Bahrain is breaking all Arab resolutions. It has been rejected and condemned and this represents a betrayal of the Palestinian cause,” said Wassel Abu Youssef, a senior PLO official.
Reporting from Ramallah, Nida Ibrahim of Al Jazeera called the deal “a betrayal of Palestinian interests, as if they were legitimizing Israeli plans – this statement is called ‘Israeli crime on earth’.”
“We spoke with a Palestinian official close to President Abbas [of the PA] And he said there could be no peace between the Arabs and Israel without a solution to the Palestinian problem, “Ibrahim said.
“The UAE and Bahrain have reached agreements to normalize relations with Israel – he said he did not think it would have happened without regional support.”
An American broker agreement between Israel and the UAE will be signed at a White House event hosted by President Trump on September 15.
The Israeli-UAE event will be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Source:
Al Jazeera and news organizations
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