Jordan’s Queen Noor rejects UAE, Israel normalisation deal

Queen Noor of Jordan, wife of the late King Hussein Bin Talal, has expressed solidarity with Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, the half-brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah II who rejected the UAE normalisation agreement with Israel.

Queen Noor shared on Twitter an article detailing the campaign of solidarity with Prince Ali and Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj after the UAE slammed Prince Ali and the renowned Jordanian cartoonist for their criticism of the deal.

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein sparked controversy after he tweeted an article by British Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, Avi Shlaim, titled “UAE-Israel deal: Breakthrough or betrayal?”.

However, the prince later deleted the article following reports of UAE anger and in an effort to avoid a dispute between the two countries.

On 13 August, US President Donald Trump announced a peace deal between the UAE and Israel brokered by Washington.

Abu Dhabi said the deal was an effort to stave off Tel Aviv’s planned annexation of the occupied West Bank, however, opponents believe normalisation efforts have been in the offing for many years as Israeli officials have made official visits to the UAE and attended conferences in the country which had no diplomatic or other ties with the occupation state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu however denied this saying annexation is not off the table, but has simply been delayed.

READ: Prominent Muslim figures resign from UAE peace forum over deal with Israel