Palestinian Islamic Movements Condemn Moroccan-Israeli Normalization

Gaza, MINA – Palestinian groups in Gaza including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine on Thursday condemned Morocco’s plan to normalize relations with Israel.

“This in no way serves Palestinian interests, but encourages the (Israeli) occupation to continue to neglect the rights of our people,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement as quoted from Anadolu Agency.

He added that the normalization agreement would enhance Israel’s aggressive policy towards the Palestinian people as well as increase settlement activity on Palestinian-occupied land.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Dawood Shehab, meanwhile, considered Morocco’s move a “betrayal of Jerusalem and Palestine” and a “setback for the Arab regime”.

He, however, insisted that the Moroccan people would reject normalization. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said in a statement that the announcement of the Moroccan-Israeli normalization agreement was “a dark day in the history of our people and the Arab nation”.

The statement also emphasized that the Arab nation will reject any form of normalization with Israel and will continue to resist the Israeli occupation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the normalization deal with Morocco brokered by the United States, describing it as “great peace” and hailing Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s decision as “historic”.

Earlier, on Thursday, the US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Morocco had agreed to full diplomatic relations. Trump called the deal a “massive breakthrough” for peace in the Middle East. Morocco is the fourth country to normalize relations with Tel Aviv after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)