Former minister: Passing UAE-Israel deal without Knesset discussion a ‘dictatorship’

Former Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon asserted on Friday that passing the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-Israel deal without discussing it in the Knesset constitutes a “dictatorship”, Anadolu Agency reported.

In a short video posted on his Twitter account, Ya’alon conveyed: “I requested the discussion of the deal in the Knesset’s Foreign and Security Committee, but this did not happen. It is a dictatorship.”

On Tuesday, Washington is slated to host the celebration of the finalising of the UAE-Israel deal under the patronage of US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed.

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Meanwhile, Israeli Health Minister Yizhar Shai expects a delay in the visit of the UAE delegation to Israel on 22 September, due to the active spread of the coronavirus in Israel.

Israel has recorded 4,038 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

On 13 August, Israel and the UAE announced their agreement on the normalisation of ties. On Friday, Israel and Bahrain announced a similar agreement.

These agreements sparked outrage among Arab populations, mainly the Palestinians.