On Wednesday, the Palestine Scholars Association issued a fatwa prohibiting normalization with Israel or establishing relations with it under any circumstances, in response to the Emirati and Bahraini agreement with Israel in Washington, and for its part, 17 Bahraini societies confirmed their rejection of the two agreements.

The UAE and Bahrain signed a normalization agreement with Israel yesterday at the White House in Washington.

US President Donald Trump participated in the signing ceremony.

Trump confirmed that he had held personal talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and with his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman regarding the kingdom's accession to the peace agreement, and said that other Arab countries would soon catch up with what he called peace with Israel.

Excerpts from the agreement

Among the agreement on normalization between the UAE and Israel, the two sides agreed on general principles that govern their relationship in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international laws, and respect for their sovereignty and the right of both to live in peace and security.

The two parties also pledged to take important measures to prevent the use of their lands to carry out a hostile or terrorist attack targeting the other party, and that each side would not support any hostile operations in the territories of the other party, and the agreement stipulated recognition of the right to coexistence.

The two sides declared their readiness to engage with the United States in what the agreement called a strategic agenda for the stability of the Middle East.

The Israeli-Emirati agreement also stipulated the establishment of peace through the normalization of diplomatic relations and the exchange of embassies, and cooperation in several areas, including: investment, aviation, health care, science and technology, health care, energy, agriculture, education, and the environment.

On the other hand, in the text of the normalization agreement signed between Israel and Bahrain, the two sides agreed to establish full diplomatic relations to enhance permanent security and avoid threats and the use of force, and they also agreed to promote coexistence and what the agreement called a culture of peace.

Bahrain and Israel agreed to discuss, in the coming weeks, cooperation agreements in several fields, including: investment, tourism, direct flights, security, communications, and the exchange of opening embassies.

The document stated that Bahrain and Israel are committed to advancing peace and security in the Middle East, and stress the importance of adopting the vision of the principles of this agreement and expanding the circle of peace, according to the text of the document.

The agreement stipulated recognition of the right of every state to sovereignty and live in peace and security, in addition to continuing efforts to reach a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

For


its part, the

Prohibition Fatwa,

the Palestine Scholars Association issued a fatwa prohibiting normalization with the occupation, and said in a press conference held in Gaza that normalization is a major sin, as God has ruled on its owner for immorality, injustice, hypocrisy, apostasy and other rulings.

The Association's president, Marwan Abu Ras, said that normalization would give the (Israeli) occupation legitimacy in the land of Palestine to do whatever it wanted with it, and stressed that all kinds of relationship with the enemy would work to strengthen it economically and support it politically.

He added that it is not permissible to measure normalization on what the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, did in the Hudaybiyah peace, because the circumstances and justifications are different.

The Palestinian presidency had said that what happened in the White House, in terms of signing agreements between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, would not achieve peace in the region.

It indicated in a statement that the presidency did not authorize anyone to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people and on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization, its sole legitimate representative.

And the Palestinian presidency considered that the main problem is not between the signatory state and the occupation authority, but with the Palestinian people who are suffering under occupation.

Representatives in the Palestinian Legislative Council rejected all forms of normalization with the Israeli occupation.

The deputies called - during a parliamentary session held at the Legislative Council in Gaza - to respect the will of the Arab and Islamic peoples who reject the normalization project that targets the Palestinian and Arab resistance, and constitutes a free gift to the Zionist project in the region, according to their description.

International positions

In this context, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the Arab countries - which normalized their relations with Israel and wanted to open the region's gates to them - must bear the repercussions of this decision, which destabilizes security and stability in the region.

During the cabinet meeting, Rouhani added that the rulers of these Arab countries have forgotten the crimes that Israel commits against the Palestinian people on a daily basis, and turned their back on the Islamic nation and their Arabism, as he put it.

As for Russia, it expressed - in the words of Mikhail Bogdanov, President Putin's special envoy to the Middle East - its hope that the UAE-Bahrain agreement with Israel would lead to peace and not harm the Palestinian-Israeli settlement.

In a statement to Sputnik, Bogdanov - who is the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs - indicated that Bahrain and the UAE have confirmed to the Russian side that they are committed to the Arab Peace Initiative and to solve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state principle, within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In Bahrain, 17 political societies and civil society institutions confirmed, on Wednesday, that normalization with Israel does not represent the people of the Kingdom, and will not produce peace.

These associations and institutions said, in a joint statement: We renew our adherence to the fundamentals of the Bahraini people from the just Palestinian cause, and to the provisions of the Bahraini constitution that criminalizes normalization with the Zionist entity.

The statement was signed by 17 political societies and civil society organizations, including the National Democratic Unionist Gathering, the Progressive Platform, the National Democratic Gathering, the National Constitutional Gathering, the Arab-Islamic community, the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions, the Bahrain Bar Association, as well as other institutions and associations.