News / Palestine / Foreign Policy

US says normalization deals serve Israel better than annexation for now

Sunday, 04 October 2020 1:56 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 04 October 2020 1:56 AM ]

US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman listens as US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the White House on August 13, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

US envoy to the Israeli regime has conceded that Tel Aviv, in partnership with Washington, has only delayed plans to annex the West Bank, adding that the US believes normalizing ties with Arab states will better serve Israeli interests than the annexation project for the time being.

“The imposition of the Israeli sovereignty will take place when Israel and the US reach a mutual decision on the matter, and we hope that this will happen when Israel signs more peace treaties with other Arab countries,” claimed US ambassador David Friedman in an interview with a right-wing Israeli daily as quoted in a Saturday report by the UK-based Middle East Monitor.

Regarding the Tel Aviv regime’s annexation scheme and the US-sponsored normalization deals with Persian Gulf despotic Arab regimes of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Friedman further confirmed, “The United States has come to the conclusion that Israel’s best option is to carry on in the normalization path for now.”

Bahrainis protest normalization deal with Israel despite clampdown

Bahraini protesters stage rallies to denounce the kingdom’s recent normalization agreement with the Israeli regime.

“The correct term to describe the current state of the annexation process is suspension,” meaning that the plan has been suspended temporarily and will be implemented in the future, he added during the interview with the Hebrew Makor Rishon newspaper.

The US diplomat further stated, “The implementation of the annexation plan will not be possible in the near future. It has been postponed for a year, two years, or maybe more. I cannot predict an exact date for resuming the project.”

Israeli regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani in a US-brokered event hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on September 15.

Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital view the deals as betrayal of their cause.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas protested the normalization deals with the Israeli regime, insisting that they will be fruitless as long as Washington and Tel Aviv do not recognize the rights of the Palestinian nation and refuse to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees.

He reiterated that there will be no peace, security or stability for anyone in the region unless the Israeli regime ended its occupation of Palestinian lands, and Palestinians could restore their rights as stipulated in international resolutions.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir