Hamas rejects UAE claim of Israeli halt to annexation plan

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has strongly rejected a senior UAE official's claim that Israel had stopped settlement annexation following a full normalization of diplomatic relations between Tel Aviv and two Arab sides.

According to Tasnim news agency, Hamas Spokesman Hazem Qasem, in a statement, said the constant expansion of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has exposed the false claims of the Arab states.

These [UAE] claims [that normalization with Israel has stopped settlement construction] are meant to mislead the Arab public opinion and to cover up the normalization crime, he said. 

UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Ale Nahyan had claimed his country's deal with Israel forced Tel Aviv to scrap its annexation plan.

Pinpointing to recent reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Hamas spokesman said Israel has demolished more than 506 Palestinian buildings in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds since the beginning of this year.

The OCHA has said there has been a sharp increase in the number of Palestinian houses being demolished by Israel in the occupied West Bank during the coronavirus pandemic.

Israel approved the construction of hundreds of settler units in the occupied West Bank after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from Washington following the signing of normalization agreements. 

Last month, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed deals with the US mediation to normalize relations with Israel.

Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza with East al-Quds as its capital, view the deals as betrayal of their cause.

ME