Hundreds of Palestinians rallied in several West Bank cities against the signing of normalization agreements with Israel by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain planned for later today in Washington.
Palestinians demonstrated in Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm and Hebron (Al-Khalil), hoisting the Palestinian flag and holding signs that denounce the agreements and Arab normalization of relations with Israel.
#Palestinians #rally against recent normalization deals https://t.co/nzlNkqZrO9 pic.twitter.com/tvLwPEFojo
— ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG) (@anadoluagency) September 15, 2020
Speakers at the rallies also spoke against the agreements, considering them a stab in the back of the Palestinian people and a deviation from the long-standing Arab position expressed in the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.
According to the Arab Peace Initiative, the Arab and Islamic nations will normalize relations with Israel only after it ends its occupation of the Palestinian territory and an independent Palestinian state is established.
A central rally is planned in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority, to coincide with the signing of the agreement later today.
Protest activities are also planned at various cities around the world, but mainly outside the White House in Washington by opponents of the agreements.
More than 50 US, Palestinian, Arab and Islamic organizations have called for a demonstration in Washington to coincide with the signing ceremonies to express their opposition to the agreements.
On August 13, Israel and the UAE have reached a deal that is expected to lead to “full normalization of relations” between the Arab nation and Israel in an agreement that US President Donald Trump reportedly helped broker.
#Palestinians in #Gaza Rally against #Bahrain– #Israel #Normalization (VIDEO) https://t.co/p5E5eSPu7r via @PalestineChron #PalestineisaRedLine pic.twitter.com/p7Go2jlWMk
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) September 15, 2020
The country of Bahrain became the latest Arab nation to normalize ties with Israel, less than a month following a similar decision by the United Arab Emirates.
The Bahraini decision, which was announced by US President Donald Trump on Friday was made despite repeated assurances that Manama will not extend diplomatic ties with Israel until Palestinians obtain their rights in accordance with international law.
The Bahrain-Israel agreement came as another shock to Palestinians who still didn’t recover from the news of the UAE-Israel normalization.
(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)
The fat lady has sung.
The Palestinians are to blame.
Not only for walking away from the Clinton peace deal, which showed the entire world that for them, it was everything or nothing.
But for also allowing them to be mere pawns for their Arab “allies”.