Palestinian officials slam US-brokered agreement between Israel, UAE

RAMALLAH/GAZA - Palestine on Thursday slammed the announcement on reaching a peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel under US sponsorship.

Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi said the UAE has come forward with its "secret dealings/normalization with Israel".

"Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it has been doing to Palestine illegally and persistently since the beginning of the occupation," Hanan Ashrawi wrote on Twitter.

In an immediate move, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas convened an urgent meeting of the Palestinian leadership.

Meanwhile, Hazem Qassem, spokesperson for the Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza Strip said that his movement condemns the agreement because it "encourages the occupation to continue its denial of the rights of our Palestinian people".

"What happened today between the Emirates and Israel is precisely the weakening of the ability of resistance and confrontation," he said.

Islamic Jihad Movement in Gaza said in a press statement that the deal is considered "surrender and submission," but it would "not change the facts of the conflict".

Palestinian President's Fatah party urged Arab states to "take punitive measures against the Emirati step".

"Normalization with Israel encourages and rewards the occupation," said Fatah party Central Committee Member Jamal Muhaisen in a press statement.

Other Palestinian factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, The Palestinian People's Party, the Palestinian Struggle Front issued condemnation statements and said that further decisions will be taken after the leadership meeting chaired by Abbas later Thursday night.

Relations between Palestine and the UAE have been strained in recent years, but tensions between the two sides peaked after the first Emirati plane flew into Israeli Ben Gurion's airport carrying medical supplies that the Palestinian government rejected and said were not coordinated through the official channels.

Israel and the UAE have reached an agreement, brokered by the US, to work towards a "full normalization of relations".

Under the agreement announced by Trump on Thursday, Israel said it has agreed to suspend the annexation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, while it focuses on expanding ties with other Arab countries.