Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinian Authority was surprised by the gravity of the step taken by the UAE to normalize its relations with Israel, stressing that the agreement "destroyed the Arab peace initiative and the rights of the Palestinians free of charge."
Erekat denounced in an interview with Al-Jazeera that Abu Dhabi linked its decision to the Israeli annexation plan, stressing that the decision to stop the annexation was on the table more than 3 weeks ago, as the Palestinians received calls calling for them to return to negotiations.
He said that peace will not be achieved until the end of the Israeli occupation, and we will not allow any party to speak on our behalf, adding, "I ask the Arab brothers to call on the UAE to withdraw from this step."
He stressed that peace begins with an end to the occupation and not with normalization and exchange of embassies, explaining, "We have asked the Arab League to hold an urgent meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the UAE-Israeli agreement."
Erekat asked, "What does the UAE gain from the reward it provided to Israel?", Considering that the agreement "destroyed the Arab peace initiative and the rights of the Palestinians free of charge."
He concluded by saying that "if the UAE is a sovereign state, can it explain to us what is its interest in concluding the agreement with Israel?", Stressing that "the UAE severed its relationship with us since 2014, and we were surprised by the agreement with Israel."