Beirut, 13 September 2020
One month after the normalization agreement between the UAE and the Israeli Occupation State, the Kingdom of Bahrain signed on to the deal. It came in accordance with the ill-fated "Deal of the Century", an attempt by the US to put an end to the Palestinian cause, in gross violation of international resolutions and the principles of international law. The deal enshrines and perpetuates Israeli occupation and its colonial project. It provides the Israeli occupation state with an opportunity to escape punishment for its aggressive and prolonged practices against the Arab Palestinian people.
ANND had previously warned against joining this deal, which was practically launched in May 2018 with the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The step was considered at the time to be a unilateral recognition of the occupied city as the capital of the Israeli occupation state and at the expense of the Palestinian people's legitimate rights.
The continuation of normalization steps and the signing of peace accords with the Israeli occupation state heralds the disintegration of the Arab position concerning the Palestinian cause. It nullifies the Arab Peace Initiative launched by the Arab League in 2002 from Beirut, which called for supporting peacebuilding efforts, for the Palestinian people to obtain their full rights consistent with UN decisions, and to protect their minimum legitimate rights, as a basic condition for any relationship with the occupation state.
The Kingdom of Bahrain's signing of an agreement to normalize relations with the Israeli occupation state constitutes a challenge to the position of the Arab peoples in support of the struggle of the Palestinian people to end the occupation and apartheid practices by Israel against the Palestinians. It encourages the Israeli occupation state to continue its expansionist colonial aggressions that affect large areas of the West Bank, imposing its sovereignty over Jerusalem, tightening the blockade against the Gaza Strip, and denying the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
ANND condemns the normalization agreements with the Israeli occupation state at a time when it has been persistently implementing its aggressive policies against the Palestinian people, who have been besieged in the Gaza Strip for more than thirteen years, and continues to pursue expansionist and settlement policies in the West Bank. Such practices pose a serious challenge to international legitimacy and its decision and challenges the international community to save international law.
ANND also calls on all Arab countries to adhere to the Arab Peace Initiative as the only entry point for resolving the Palestinian issue on a just and sustainable basis, which respects the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people who are subjected to the most heinous types of discrimination, apartheid, and genocide.
We call on all Arab CSOs to reject these deals and boycott the occupation on all levels while increasing their solidarity with the Palestinian people and support its resilience against the occupation and its schemes.
ANND affirms its full commitment to the struggle to protect the rights of Palestinians, including self-determination and the establishment of an independent state on their national soil, with the capital in Jerusalem and the resolution of the question of refugees according to international legitimacy. |
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