Palestinian group calls for worldwide protests over Gulf normalisation deals with Israel
Palestinian group calls for worldwide protests over Gulf normalisation deals with Israel
A new Palestinian coordination group, which includes members of Fatah, Hamas, and other factions, has called for people around the world to protest Bahraini and Emirati normalisation deals with Israel.
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Palestinians have condemned Gulf normalisation deals with Israel [Getty]
A new Palestinian coordination group dedicated to combating Arab normalisation of relations with Israel issued its first statement on Sunday, calling for protests worldwide outside US, Israeli, UAE, and Bahraini embassies.
The Unified National Leadership for Popular Resistance called for Palestinians to demonstrate against the UAE and Bahrain normalisation agreements on 15 September, the same day that the UAE, Bahrain, and Israel are set to formally sign their peace deals at a ceremony in Washington.
Munir Al-Jaghoub, an official from Fatah who is taking part in the Unified National Leadership told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service that members of several Palestinian factions are involved with the coordination group.
"These demonstrations are one of several steps taken by all Palestinian factions, including the Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad movements, in order to unify popular resistance efforts in the West Bank and organize them in a way appropriate to the current challenges," he said.
Read more: As Arab countries edge towards Israel, what's next for the Palestinian national movement?
The Unified National Leadership called in particular on Palestinians previously imprisoned in Israeli jails and families of Palestinians killed by Israel to participate in the protests.
It also called on "Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic communities, free people around the world, and democratic forces" to demonstrate outside the embassies of the four countries involved in what it described as the "agreements of shame".
The group also called for the following Friday, 18 September, to be a day of mourning, on which black flags would be raised "over every square, building and house" in protest at the agreement.
Palestinians have strongly condemned the UAE's and Bahrain's normalisation agreements with Israel, calling them a "stab in the back" and saying that they encourage Israel to continue with its illegal occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and siege of Gaza.
On Sunday, Saeb Erekat, the Secretary-General of the PLO’s Executive Committee called the Bahraini and UAE deals with Israel "peace for protection".
"Some decision-makers in the Arab world believe that Arab national security metrics will depend on the protection of Israel," he told journalists.
Erekat referred to Washington's longstanding policy of ensuring Israel is militarily stronger than other countries in the Middle East.
Arab nations are not permitted "to have any superiority on Israel on any field," he said.
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