Hamas, PLO criticize GCC demand for apology over denouncing UAE-Israel

“The Hamas movement and other Palestinian factions have adopted genuine patriotic and nationalist positions in rejection of the normalization agreement between the Occupation (Israel) and the UAE,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.   He added, “Hamas did not attack anyone, but rather emphatically rejected the UAE’s decision to sign a normalization deal with the Zionist regime.” Qassem then thanked Arab nations as well as peoples of Persian Gulf littoral states over their rejection of the normalization agreement. On Monday, GCC Secretary-General Nayef al-Hajraf condemned what he described as “the irresponsible language of incitement and threat” issued by some participants in a meeting of Palestinian factions held in Beirut last Thursday.    Hajraf called upon Palestinian leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas, to apologize for their “provocative statements.” Similarly, a member of the PLO’s executive committee dismissed the GCC chief’s demand for an apology from Palestinian leaders as “improper and reprehensible.” The meeting of the chiefs of Palestinian factions “sought to confront [US President Donald Trump’s so-called] deal of the century and combat the threat of normalization [with Israel],” Wasel Abu Yousef noted.“The position declared by representatives of Palestinian factions is not a secret. We have always clearly and publicly announced our positions vis-à-vis various Palestinian, Arab and international issues,” he pointed out.Israel and the UAE agreed to a US-brokered deal to normalize relations on August 13.  Emirati officials have described the normalization deal with the Tel Aviv regime as a successful means to stave off annexation and save the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Israeli leaders lined up to reject the bluff.