Ex-Saudi spy chief: Palestinian leadership's opposition to Arab-Israeli normalization reprehensible

Saudi Arabia’s former spy chief and ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, has criticized the Palestinian leadership for opposing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain move to normalize relations with Israel.

Speaking in an interview with Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television news network aired on Monday, the senior member of the House of Saud labeled the Palestinian authorities’ criticism as “transgression” and “reprehensible discourse.”

“This low level of discourse is not what we expect from officials who seek to gain global support for their cause,” he said in scathing remarks.

With Washington’s mediation, the UAE and Bahrain agreed last month to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, in deals condemned by Palestinians as a “stab in the back” of the oppressed nation and a betrayal of its cause against Israeli occupation.

Abbas: UAE stabbed Palestine in back by normalizing with Israel, others must not follow suit

President Abbas slams the UAE for stabbing the Palestinian nation in the back by making peace with Israel, warning other Arab states not to follow suit.

“The Palestinian cause is a just cause but its advocates are failures, and the Israeli cause is unjust but its advocates have proven to be successful. That sums up the events of the last 70 or 75 years,” bin Sultan commented.

The former Saudi spy chief then harshly criticized the Palestinian leadership for what he claimed to be repeated missed opportunities to reach an accord with the Israeli regime, and for receiving Saudi aid while ignoring the Riyadh regime’s political agenda.

“Israel was working on increasing its influence, while the Arabs were busy with each other. The Palestinians and their leaders led these disputes among the Arabs,” bin Sultan said.

Relations between the Palestinians and the conservative Persian Gulf kingdoms have been declining for years.

The Palestinian Authority has not received aid from the UAE since 2014, while Saudi Arabia began aggressively jailing and prosecuting members of Hamas resistance movement in 2017.

Experts and pundits believe Saudi Arabia has started shifting the public discourse on Israel, and bin Sultan’s statements are in line with warming ties between the kingdom and the Tel Aviv regime.

Bin Salman has made several trips to Tel Aviv: Former Israeli official

A former Israeli security official says the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has paid several visits to Tel Aviv so far.

Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television news network, citing an unnamed former Israeli security official, lately reported that Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has paid several visits to Tel Aviv so far.

“Foreign reports indicate that Mohammed bin Salman has enjoyed the Tel Aviv sunshine several times,” the official was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity.

This is not the first time that Bin Salman’s trips to Israel are being disclosed.

Back in October 2017, an Israeli official confirmed that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler had traveled to Israel and held consultations with senior officials there.

Normalization serves Israel’s regional interests: Hamas leader

Meanwhile, a Hamas leader once again denounced the normalization of relations between Arab states and Israel, saying such a move serves the interests of the regime and helps it advance it expansionist policies.

“Hamas warns Arabs against following the path of normalization with Israel. Israel exploits normalization of ties with Arab states in order to seize the Arab nations’ resources and loot their goods,” Khalil al-Hayya said on Monday.

Hamas asks Arab states to heed public condemnation of Israel normalization

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas urges the Persian Gulf Arab states to listen to their people

He denounced the United States for helping Israel “expand in the region by exploiting the current divisions among Arabs.”

Israel’s FM to meet UAE counterpart in Berlin

Later on Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi will meet his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Berlin at the invitation of Germany’s top diplomat Heiko Maas.

Ashkenazi was scheduled to depart on Tuesday morning on a German military plane.

The ministers will hold talks and will visit the Holocaust Museum together, Israeli Kan news network reported on Monday.

The meeting comes on the heels of last month’s signing at the White House of normalization accords between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.

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

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas protested the normalization deals with Israel, saying they will be fruitless as long as the United States and the Israeli regime do not recognize the rights of the Palestinian nation and refuse to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees.

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