Dubai deputy police chief calls for 'dissolving Hamas' after normalisation with Israel

Dubai deputy police chief calls for 'dissolving Hamas' after normalisation with Israel
Dhahi Khalfan slammed all Palestinian groups that opposed the UAE's normalisation, saying Hamas needs to be dissolved.
2 min read
15 August, 2020
Dhahi Khalfan lashed out at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [Twitter]
Dubai's former police chief Dhahi Khalfan attacked all the Palestinian parties for slamming the UAE's normalisation with Israel, saying Gaza-based group Hamas needs to be dissolved.

In a series of tweets, Khalfan criticised Palestinian groups and called for "dissolving" the enemies of the UAE, claiming that his country's step to normalise with Tel Aviv will enhance Palestinian-Israeli talks.

Khalfan lashed out at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and his chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, saying that they have "outdated mentalities". 

He called for Hamas to be dissolved and the integration of all forces under the banner of Fatah, with the "youth" assuming the leadership - an apparent reference to ex-Fatah leader and UAE ally Mohamed Dahlan.

Khalfan, known for his constant promotion of normalisation with Israel, and his constant attack on Palestinians, especially Hamas, considered that "dialogue with the Jews in the presence of peace will be more beneficial to the two-state solution".

Khalfan deplored Hamas, saying: "When the Palestinian cause turns into an Islamist party that carries all the tools of demolition for the Arab governments... the case is lost for the sake of a party... and this is what al-Mishaal al-Mutfi did," mockingly referring to the movement's former political bureau chief Khaled Meshal.

Hamas, which was a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood until 2017, is considered as a terrorist organisation by the anti-Islamist UAE.

The Middle East felt shockwaves, after Trump announced on Thursday that the UAE had normalised ties with Israel, only the third between the Jewish state and an Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan.

Palestinians of all political leanings – from the secular Fatah of Mahmoud Abbas to the Hamas Islamist – have been unanimous in their condemnation of the deal, viewing the UAE as sacrificing the Palestinian cause to gain commercial relations with Israel.

While the agreement supposedly delays Israel's plans to unilaterally annex large swathes of the West Bank and Jordan Valley, many Palestinians feel betrayed.

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