If any other Arab countries follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates and formally normalize the relations with Israel, it will be due to unprecedented political pressure by the United States, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2020) If any other Arab countries follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates and formally normalize the relations with Israel, it will be due to unprecedented political pressure by the United States, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he would expect Saudi Arabia to normalize the ties with Israel on the back of the landmark UAE-Israel deal, brokered by Washington last week. Israel's expectation is that other Arab countries might also join in, according to Israeli authorities.
"Indeed, there are reports that some other Arab states will also resort to a similar step, but we will continue to show our firmness, we will be defending our position and solving our internal problems. There is unprecedented pressure coming from the United States on a number of countries in the region to make them accept the American plan," Nofal said.
The ambassador further denounced the US-brokered UAE-Israel deal as failing to address the Jerusalem dilemma, the issue of who would establish sovereignty over the Jerusalem city if the two-state solution had to materialize.
"The issue of Jerusalem cannot be solved to please only one state of Israel, it is necessary to rely on the decisions of the international organizations, it is necessary to respect the two-state solution principle. I hope that the Arab countries would not accept any other solutions to this issue," the diplomat said.
For decades, Palestinians have sought recognition of their independent state in the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip.
Israel has built more than 120 settlements in the contested areas and has declared the intention to establish sovereignty over them earlier this year. Under the US-brokered deal with the UAE, Israel has agreed to abandon its annexation plans in the West Bank.
The United Nations stands by the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which means a peaceful coexistence of two sovereign states within mutually acceptable borders.
