Mona Kandil
Press TV, Ramallah
In a very unusual move described as a heavy blow to the Palestinians and their cause, the Arab League's foreign ministers refused to endorse a resolution proposed by the Palestinian Authority which called for condemnation of the US-brokered normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank condemned the Arab League’s failure to pass the resolution, describing the move as arrogance.
In his address to the Arab League, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki harshly criticized what he called hypocrisy by Arab states, however, without naming names and called for a united stance rejecting the normalization deal. But after almost three hours of discussion, some Arab countries refused to include a statement condemning the UAE. They have even removed a clause which discussed the agreement.
The Arab League, however, agreed to include an emphasis in the final communique on commitment to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, the two-state solution, and the land-for-peace principle. Next week, a ceremony is to take place in Washington for signing the normalization deal between Israel and the UAE. Observers report that the White House plans to invite Arab foreign ministers and ambassadors to attend the ceremony in order to show the deal has the support of Arab countries.
Today, Palestinians are feeling betrayed and believe they have been left alone. They say the Arab league position proves that Arab officials have been paying lip service to the Palestinian cause in public while conducting relations with Israel in private, these secret relations that have turned to public normalization.