Palestine recalls ambassador from UAE after it establishes diplomatic ties with Israel

The Palestinian ambassador to the UAE is being recalled over Abu Dhabi’s decision to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called “treason.”

The ambassador was recalled from Abu Dhabi on Thursday in response to the deal between Israel and the UAE, which became the first Gulf Arab state to officially establish diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv.

Abbas has called on the UAE to reverse Thursday’s decision, which formalizes years of sub-rosa rapprochement between Israel and the oil-rich state, and urged other Arab nations not to follow its example “at the expense of Palestinian rights.”

Hamas, which rules Gaza, also denounced the agreement, calling it a “stabbing in the back of our people.”

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Emirati leaders have defended the move by pointing out it headed off Israeli annexation of a large portion of the West Bank. “The UAE is using its gravitas and promise of a relationship to unscrew a time bomb that is threatening a two-state solution,” Emirati official Anwar Gargash told reporters.

However, the Palestinian territory thus ‘saved’ from annexation remains under illegal Israeli occupation, including the many Jewish-only settlements honeycombing the would-be Palestinian state, and the facts on the ground will not change under the agreement.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has also made clear that his “plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria” – i.e. the West Bank – have not changed, explaining he is merely awaiting “full coordination with the US.”

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