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On August 13, the United Arab Emirates and the Israeli entity announced an agreement to officially normalize relations, making the United Arab Emirates the first Gulf country to establish relations with Tel Aviv, and the fourth of the League countries. Arab after Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania, which froze after 2009.
Some Arab countries supported the Emirati-Israeli agreement, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, and said it was a step towards solving the Palestinian problem.
Under the normalization agreement, according to the UAE, the Israeli side agrees to stop annexing land in the West Bank, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the matter is nothing more than a temporary suspension.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, who is chairing the current session of the League Council at the ministerial level, called on his Arab counterparts to take a “position of rejection” of the normalization agreement, stating that not doing so would mean that the meeting is “a blessing for the measure … or a cover, and this is what the State of Palestine will not accept.” ».
“No” to the Arab Peace Initiative
At the conclusion of the Arab Ministerial Summit, the Assistant Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Hussam Zaki, explained that today’s meeting “witnessed a serious and comprehensive dialogue that took some time, but did not lead to a consensus on the draft resolution proposed by the Palestinian side. “
He pointed out that the disagreement called for “amendments by the Palestinian side to the draft presented by it, then corresponding amendments”, but “the Palestinian side preferred not to leave the draft resolution without including the concepts it was talking about,” Zaki said.
The Palestinian side softened its criticism of the Emirates, focusing, according to what Palestine’s alternate ambassador to the Arab League, Muhannad Alaklouk, told the agency “Reuters”, on “only one point … which condemns the departure of the initiative of Arab peace “.
However, this point did not receive the consensus of the ministers. “During the two hours of discussion, they worked hard to get this point out,” Al-Aklouk said. His Excellency the (Palestinian Foreign Minister) refused to leave him and said he has two solutions: suspend the meeting for hours or days until we agree, or remove the item from the agenda. When they declined to comment, the topic was off the agenda.
At the same time, Zaki stressed that “the rest of the decisions relating to Palestine did not modify the basic concepts established … such as the rejection of the so-called US peace plan and the refusal to recognize the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem and the rights of Palestinian refugees. “
On September 15, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, will host the signing ceremony of the normalization agreement between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv at the White House.
Riyadh: 1967 borders
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan affirmed his country’s support for all efforts aimed at reaching a just and complete solution to the Palestinian problem on the basis of the 1967 borders.
In the 1967 war, Israel occupied territories that included the West Bank, which it continues to occupy today, and the Gaza Strip, from which it withdrew in 2005.
However, the statement issued by the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry regarding Faisal bin Farhan’s statements did not include any direct reference to the standardization agreement between the Emirates and Israel.
Bin Farhan said on Twitter: “The Kingdom affirms its position with the Palestinian people and supports all efforts aimed at reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian problem in a way that allows the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. “
On a visit to the United Arab Emirates, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said the Palestinians “should not be attached to the past.”
