Abbas criticizes Israel-UAE deal in talks with Raab

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas criticizes what he calls “the illusion of peace for peace,” during a meeting with United Kingdom Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, according to the PA official WAFA news agency.

“Peace will not be achieved by jumping over the Palestinians to normalize relations with Arab states. It will not be achieved in the form of the illusion of peace for peace. Rather, it will be done on the basis of international law and the Arab Peace Initiative, which say that a peace agreement is to be concluded with the Palestinians first,” Abbas says.

Abbas was referring to statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the recent agreement to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates signaled “peace for peace.” Previous treaties with Arab states, Netanyahu has said, were based on exchanging “land for peace.”

A joint statement released by the United States, Israel and the UAE earlier this month said that Israel agreed to suspend its plan to annex parts of the West Bank in exchange for a full normalization of relations. The PA has accused the UAE of stabbing the Palestinian cause in the back by agreeing to peace with Israel before an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

Raab is in the region pushing for a restart of Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and to urge Israel to fully abandon annexation plans.

— Aaron Boxerman