Arab League rejects Palestinian request, Israel can breathe relief

jpnn.com – The Palestinians failed to persuade the Arab League to issue an official statement condemning the rapprochement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

“The discussions on this matter are serious. They were discussed extensively and took time. But in the end there was no agreement on the draft of the communiqué proposed by the Palestinian side,” the deputy secretary general of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, told reporters.

The rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, negotiated by the United States, will be formalized at a signing ceremony at the White House next week.

The deal is the first agreement between Israel and an Arab country in more than 20 years, and is based in part on a shared fear of Iran.

The Palestinians are disillusioned by the UAE’s actions and fear they will undermine the position of the long-standing Arab alliance on Arab peace initiatives.

The initiative contains calls for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territory and the recognition of a Palestinian state if Israel wants to reestablish its relations with the Arab states.

“We have asked for a clear condemnation of the violations of the Arab peace initiative, but our request has not been met,” said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, in a comment published by the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

“But we also managed to avoid any statement that Arab supported or allowed the Emirate to sign on Tuesday to normalize relations with Israel.”