Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: ALAA BADARNEH / Getty Images
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the U.S.-brokered Bahrain-Israel agreement, as his office issued a statement, saying “the Palestinian leadership see this as a betrayal of the Palestinian issue, of Jerusalem and of the al-Aqsa mosque” by Bahrain.
Why it matters: The Bahraini decision to follow the Untied Arab Emirates and normalize relations with Israel is a further blow to the Palestinians, who are losing Arab support. Earlier this week, the Palestinians failed to get the Arab League to back them in condemning the Israel-UAE agreement.
What they're saying: The statement by Palestinian leadership also noted that Bahrain “is legitimizing the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people,” and called on the Bahraini government to reverse its decision to normalize relation with Israel.
- PLO secretary general Saeb Erekat said: “The UAE and Bahrain are contributing to Trump's presidential campaign at the expense of the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine. The normalization race is not the answer to the achievement of Palestinian freedom and independence.”
The impact: Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki announced that he will recall the Palestinian ambassador in Manama as a protest to the Bahraini move.
- The Palestinians withdrew their ambassador from Abu Dhabi a month ago after the UAE normalized relations with Israel.