Hamas: Normalising ties with Israel ‘a stab in the back’

Rider of team UAE Emirates Fabio Aru rides during the 1st stage of the Giro d’Italia 2018, held in Israeli-occupied Jerusalem on May 4, 2018 [LUK BENIES/AFP/Getty Images]

Hamas described Arab states’ efforts to normalise ties with Israel as “a stab in the back of the just Palestinian cause”, a spokesman said.

In a press release, official Hamas Spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanou said: “Normalising ties with the Israeli occupation state is also a stab in the back of all the nations which reject the occupation.”

“The Zionist Israeli occupation will remain the main enemy for the Palestinians and the Arab nations, and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s visits to the Arab states will not legitimise it.”

He called for the Arab states “to stop all forms of normalisation with the Israeli occupation, isolating it and disclosing its crimes against the Palestinians.”

This comes as reports are circulating that Netanyahu is due to make an official visit to Bahrain. The Israeli prime minister made a similar visit to Oman in October while ministers from his government have attended conferences and international events in the UAE.

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