Palestinians condemn Israel-Bahrain deal as stab in the back

Edited by Ed Newman
2020-09-13 13:15:56

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Palestineans protest deal with Bahrain and Israel. (Photo: Press TV)

Ramallah, September 13 (RHC)-- Palestinian officials have condemned the Israel-Bahrain normalization deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump as another "stab in the back" by an Arab state.

The accord normalizing diplomatic ties between Israel and Bahrain comes one month after the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered deal.

Trump tweeted the news over the weekend after he spoke by phone to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.

Following the announcement at the White House, Palestine recalled its ambassador to Bahrain for consultations, according to its foreign ministry.

The agreement was "a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people," Ahmad Majdalani, social affairs minister in the Palestinian Authority (PA), told reporters. 

In the besieged Gaza Strip, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Bahrain's decision to normalize relations with Israel "represents a grave harm to the Palestinian cause, and it supports the occupation."

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), based in Ramallah, occupied West Bank, called the normalization "another treacherous stab to the Palestinian cause."  Palestinians fear the moves by the UAE and Bahrain will weaken a long-standing pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

"By normalizing ties with the occupation, Bahrain is breaking all Arab resolutions.  It is rejected and condemned and it represents a betrayal of the Palestinian cause," said Wassel Abu Youssef, a senior PLO official.

Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim said the PLO's statement called the accord "a betrayal to the Palestinian cause, as if they're legitimising the Israeli plans - what the statement calls 'the Israeli crimes on the ground'."
 



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