In response to Bahrain’s declaration on normalizing its relations with the occupying state of Israel under US auspices, Hanan Ashrawi, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, stated:
“The Bahrain-Israel announcement is not a peace deal. It is US President Donald Trump playing to his base in the wake of elections and a reward to Israel’s escalating aggression and impunity. Normalization has been taking place between Bahrain and Israel surreptitiously. The US administration has used all its political and economic might to extort, pressure, and bully Arab and other states to normalize Israeli colonization and trample on foundational principles of international law, including the tacit endorsement of the war crime of annexation. The path to real peace must be founded on mutual respect and adherence to international law.
By contrast, the false promise of prosperity and peace based on the US-Israeli approach will prove itself a destructive mirage that will only further destabilize the region. Normalization of states in the region with Israel will not change the essence of this conflict, which is the systemic denial of the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to freedom and sovereignty. The US administration can continue to exercise its power of coercion in the region to serve its electoral needs while applying cruel pressure on the Palestinian people. However, such an arrogant and ignorant approach will not bring the Palestinian people to their knees.
The Palestinian people remain deeply rooted in their homeland and determined to secure their fundamental rights to a reality of freedom, dignity, and sovereignty. We will not surrender our agency nor abdicate our responsibility to deliver a genuine and just peace to our future generations. Justice in Palestine is a moral and legal imperative that can neither be ignored nor denied.”
