Faced with complaints about the deal from the Palestinians, UAE Foreign Minister Gargash said that the deal with Israel actually buys the Palestinians a lot of time before annexation, and that they should use that time to negotiate.
He rejected the idea that this was a betrayal of the Palestinians, but Gargash also emphasized hope for normalization with Israel “soon,” and expressed hope they could soon exchange cultural representatives.
The UAE had presented the deal as slowing annexation, while Israeli officials say they still intend to annex the West Bank at some point in the near future. It’s not clear if the deal mentions that one way or another.
It seems this will delay annexation, though with Netanyahu under pressure from settler groups, he’s likely to want to deliver on that promise quickly.
UAE FM: Peace With Israel Buys Palestinians Time to Negotiate
Hopes to implement normalization 'soon'
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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