The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has slammed the recent ‘normalisation agreement’ between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, and has called on Emiratis to boycott any Israeli activity in their country.
A BDS statement released on Monday said: ‘Palestinian civil society stands with the silenced majority in the United Arab Emirates and the Arab world in strongly condemning the agreement reached between the despotic rulers of the United Arab Emirates and Israel, with support from the Trump White House.
‘This is the UAE regime’s gravest betrayal of the struggle for Palestinian liberation and self-determination.’
The deal was announced last Thursday, 13th August, at the same time Israel was again bombing the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip and attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, signalling that it would do nothing to diminish Israel’s brutal assaults on the Palestinian people.
The BDS statement continued: ‘The UAE regime’s claim that the price for its violation of the central principle among Arab peoples of commitment to the Palestinian cause was Israel’s freeze of its plans to formally annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, is a lie.
‘After the agreement had been reached, (Israeli Premier Benjamin) Netanyahu announced that the annexation plan is still alive but has only been temporarily delayed to allow him to reach agreement with Trump on how best to implement it.’
The UAE claim is a sham.
‘Israel’s theft of Palestinian land and its illegal settlement enterprise are continuing unabated, entrenching its de facto annexation and apartheid regime.’
Israel’s regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid is celebrating this latest ‘diplomatic breakthrough’ as badly needed cover for its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the indigenous people of Palestine.
These include massacres; ethnic cleansing, especially in Jerusalem, the Naqab and the Jordan Valley; the siege of Gaza; home demolitions; destruction of ancient olive groves; destruction or appropriation of cultural and archaeological heritage; and denial of fundamental rights protected in international law, the BDS said, adding:
‘The Palestinian people, supported by the absolute majority in the Arab world and by people of conscience globally, will continue to resist Israeli oppression and insist on our inalienable right to liberation, self-determination, freedom and dignity in our homeland.
‘We call on people across the globe to escalate boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel’s ongoing annexation and apartheid.’
The BDS is calling on Emiratis ‘to boycott any Israeli presence or activity in the country or elsewhere and to refuse to engage with the Israeli embassy or with entities partnering with them and with all complicit Israeli institutions.’
It also called on Arabs in general to continue to actively resist this abject normalisation by:
- Boycotting all activities, festivals and projects sponsored by the UAE regime, including the Dubai EXPO, the Dubai Shopping Festival, as well as sports, cultural and economic/financial festivals and conferences;
- Boycotting and divesting from any Emirati or other corporation that becomes complicit in implementing this normalisation agreement with Israel;
- Refrain from travel to present-day Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, under this unethical agreement, and from participating in faith washing initiatives that underpin this so-called “Abraham Accord”.’
Last Saturday, the South African government said it ‘regrets yet another agreement related to the fate of the Palestinians has taken place without engaging the people of Palestine in it.’
‘The South African government has noted with concern the developments regarding the normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which took place on Thursday, 13 August 2020.
‘Peace and stability in the Middle East, and particularly a sustainable solution regarding the plight of the Palestinian people, is of critical importance to South Africa,’ it said in a statement.
‘While the UAE has the sovereign right to set its diplomatic relations with the government of Israel, it is regrettable that it has done so based on yet another agreement related to the fate of the Palestinian people without engaging the people of Palestine,’ the South African government statement went on.
The UAE claimed that, as a result of this agreement, Israel would halt all threats of annexation of occupied West Bank land.
However, as the South African government points out: ‘It does not commit Israel to halting of plans to further extend Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian territories and its people,’ neither does it ‘commit the government of Israel to negotiations guided by the internationally agreed parameters.’
The South African government said that the concerns it has in relation to the agreement made by the three countries were amplified by the comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised address, following the announcement of the normalisation of relations with the UAE, in which he stated that he remains committed to annexing parts of West Bank, and that he agreed to only ‘delay’ further annexation.
‘South Africa notes the concerns expressed by the Palestinian leadership and wishes to express its conviction that any initiative aimed at a solution to the conflict, must take into account the needs and aspirations of the Palestinian people.
‘In this regard, South Africa remains committed to the independence of Palestine under the two-state solution, based on the international recognition and independence of the viable State of Palestine, based on the 4th June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, existing peacefully side by side with its neighbours.
‘We hold that the outstanding final status issues must be resolved through negotiations between the parties, with support from the international community,’ concluded the statement.
Dozens of South Africans and supporters of Palestine demonstrated outside the Israeli embassy in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The protest, organised by Africa4Palestine and other South African organisations, condemned the US-sponsored UAE-Israel agreement reached last Thursday and demanded the immediate release of Mahmoud Nawajaa, coordinator of the BDS movement, who was detained by Israel last month for his role in the boycott movement and for defending human rights of Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Foreign Minister of Luxemburg, Jean Asselborn, also condemned the United Arab Emirates for selling out the Palestinian cause for economic interests by signing the normalisation deal with apartheid Israel.
‘The Palestinians, the Palestinian people, who are Arabs, are really caught between the ropes,’ Asselborn said in an interview with the Deutschlandfunk broadcasting network.
‘One can see for quite some time that solidarity with the Palestinians is no longer a priority, especially in the Gulf,’ he said.
‘Well, it is now being sold in such a way that these annexations on the West Bank are really being prevented.
‘However, I agree with the Palestinians when they say that this now means that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and not the capital of Israel and Palestine,’ he added.
Asselborn reaffirmed his strong support for a two-state solution as the way to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East.
‘This (Israeli) government is saying officially that they could also imagine a two-state solution, but everything is going against a two-state solution,’ he continued.
‘As long as there is no two-state solution – I am convinced of that – there will be no stability, not even among the Gulf States.’
Last Friday in Washington United States Congresswoman Betty McCollum introduced the Israeli Annexation Non-Recognition Act to prohibit US funding to any area in the occupied West Bank annexed by Israel.
The bill was co-sponsored by members of Congress Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Mark Pocan, Ilhan Omar, and André Carson,
McCollum thanked the members of Congress for signing on as original co-sponsors of the bill and ‘for your shared commitment to promoting human rights and a peaceful future for all Israelis and Palestinians.
‘Palestinians and Israelis deserve peace, security, equality, and justice. Annexation is antithetical to these goals,’ she said, adding: ‘I reject Israeli annexation. I condemn annexation. And I will work to ensure the US does not support, defend, or legitimise any plan to illegally annex Palestinian lands.’
The US Congresswoman said reports of annexation being ‘off the table’ cannot be taken at face value, quoting a senior Israeli political source saying: ‘The Trump administration requested to temporarily suspend the announcement of annexation’.
This suggests that as ‘per usual, the Trump administration is lying and cannot be trusted.’
The Palestinian leadership is expected to meet today, Wednesday, to discuss issues of importance to the Palestinian cause, including the latest UAE-Israel-US agreement on normalisation of relations between the first two countries, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced on Monday.
The Palestinian leadership was quick to condemn the agreement as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Shtayyeh said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting that this agreement is a flagrant departure from the Arab consensus.
He rejected UAE claims that the agreement has led to the cancellation of Israeli plans to annex occupied West Bank land, saying that the decision to freeze this plan was due to the strong Palestinian opposition to it.
The government will continue in its efforts to confront the annexation plan and Israeli settlement activities, he said.
ends
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has slammed the recent ‘normalisation agreement’ between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, and has called on Emiratis to boycott any Israeli activity in their country.
A BDS statement released on Monday said: ‘Palestinian civil society stands with the silenced majority in the United Arab Emirates and the Arab world in strongly condemning the agreement reached between the despotic rulers of the United Arab Emirates and Israel, with support from the Trump White House.
‘This is the UAE regime’s gravest betrayal of the struggle for Palestinian liberation and self-determination.’
The deal was announced last Thursday, 13th August, at the same time Israel was again bombing the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip and attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, signalling that it would do nothing to diminish Israel’s brutal assaults on the Palestinian people.
The BDS statement continued: ‘The UAE regime’s claim that the price for its violation of the central principle among Arab peoples of commitment to the Palestinian cause was Israel’s freeze of its plans to formally annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, is a lie.
‘After the agreement had been reached, (Israeli Premier Benjamin) Netanyahu announced that the annexation plan is still alive but has only been temporarily delayed to allow him to reach agreement with Trump on how best to implement it.’
The UAE claim is a sham.
‘Israel’s theft of Palestinian land and its illegal settlement enterprise are continuing unabated, entrenching its de facto annexation and apartheid regime.’
Israel’s regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid is celebrating this latest ‘diplomatic breakthrough’ as badly needed cover for its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the indigenous people of Palestine.
These include massacres; ethnic cleansing, especially in Jerusalem, the Naqab and the Jordan Valley; the siege of Gaza; home demolitions; destruction of ancient olive groves; destruction or appropriation of cultural and archaeological heritage; and denial of fundamental rights protected in international law, the BDS said, adding:
‘The Palestinian people, supported by the absolute majority in the Arab world and by people of conscience globally, will continue to resist Israeli oppression and insist on our inalienable right to liberation, self-determination, freedom and dignity in our homeland.
‘We call on people across the globe to escalate boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel’s ongoing annexation and apartheid.’
The BDS is calling on Emiratis ‘to boycott any Israeli presence or activity in the country or elsewhere and to refuse to engage with the Israeli embassy or with entities partnering with them and with all complicit Israeli institutions.’
It also called on Arabs in general to continue to actively resist this abject normalisation by:
- Boycotting all activities, festivals and projects sponsored by the UAE regime, including the Dubai EXPO, the Dubai Shopping Festival, as well as sports, cultural and economic/financial festivals and conferences;
- Boycotting and divesting from any Emirati or other corporation that becomes complicit in implementing this normalisation agreement with Israel;
- Refrain from travel to present-day Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, under this unethical agreement, and from participating in faith washing initiatives that underpin this so-called “Abraham Accord”.’
Last Saturday, the South African government said it ‘regrets yet another agreement related to the fate of the Palestinians has taken place without engaging the people of Palestine in it.’
‘The South African government has noted with concern the developments regarding the normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which took place on Thursday, 13 August 2020.
‘Peace and stability in the Middle East, and particularly a sustainable solution regarding the plight of the Palestinian people, is of critical importance to South Africa,’ it said in a statement.
‘While the UAE has the sovereign right to set its diplomatic relations with the government of Israel, it is regrettable that it has done so based on yet another agreement related to the fate of the Palestinian people without engaging the people of Palestine,’ the South African government statement went on.
The UAE claimed that, as a result of this agreement, Israel would halt all threats of annexation of occupied West Bank land.
However, as the South African government points out: ‘It does not commit Israel to halting of plans to further extend Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian territories and its people,’ neither does it ‘commit the government of Israel to negotiations guided by the internationally agreed parameters.’
The South African government said that the concerns it has in relation to the agreement made by the three countries were amplified by the comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised address, following the announcement of the normalisation of relations with the UAE, in which he stated that he remains committed to annexing parts of West Bank, and that he agreed to only ‘delay’ further annexation.
‘South Africa notes the concerns expressed by the Palestinian leadership and wishes to express its conviction that any initiative aimed at a solution to the conflict, must take into account the needs and aspirations of the Palestinian people.
‘In this regard, South Africa remains committed to the independence of Palestine under the two-state solution, based on the international recognition and independence of the viable State of Palestine, based on the 4th June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, existing peacefully side by side with its neighbours.
‘We hold that the outstanding final status issues must be resolved through negotiations between the parties, with support from the international community,’ concluded the statement.
Dozens of South Africans and supporters of Palestine demonstrated outside the Israeli embassy in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The protest, organised by Africa4Palestine and other South African organisations, condemned the US-sponsored UAE-Israel agreement reached last Thursday and demanded the immediate release of Mahmoud Nawajaa, coordinator of the BDS movement, who was detained by Israel last month for his role in the boycott movement and for defending human rights of Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Foreign Minister of Luxemburg, Jean Asselborn, also condemned the United Arab Emirates for selling out the Palestinian cause for economic interests by signing the normalisation deal with apartheid Israel.
‘The Palestinians, the Palestinian people, who are Arabs, are really caught between the ropes,’ Asselborn said in an interview with the Deutschlandfunk broadcasting network.
‘One can see for quite some time that solidarity with the Palestinians is no longer a priority, especially in the Gulf,’ he said.
‘Well, it is now being sold in such a way that these annexations on the West Bank are really being prevented.
‘However, I agree with the Palestinians when they say that this now means that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and not the capital of Israel and Palestine,’ he added.
Asselborn reaffirmed his strong support for a two-state solution as the way to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East.
‘This (Israeli) government is saying officially that they could also imagine a two-state solution, but everything is going against a two-state solution,’ he continued.
‘As long as there is no two-state solution – I am convinced of that – there will be no stability, not even among the Gulf States.’
Last Friday in Washington United States Congresswoman Betty McCollum introduced the Israeli Annexation Non-Recognition Act to prohibit US funding to any area in the occupied West Bank annexed by Israel.
The bill was co-sponsored by members of Congress Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Mark Pocan, Ilhan Omar, and André Carson,
McCollum thanked the members of Congress for signing on as original co-sponsors of the bill and ‘for your shared commitment to promoting human rights and a peaceful future for all Israelis and Palestinians.
‘Palestinians and Israelis deserve peace, security, equality, and justice. Annexation is antithetical to these goals,’ she said, adding: ‘I reject Israeli annexation. I condemn annexation. And I will work to ensure the US does not support, defend, or legitimise any plan to illegally annex Palestinian lands.’
The US Congresswoman said reports of annexation being ‘off the table’ cannot be taken at face value, quoting a senior Israeli political source saying: ‘The Trump administration requested to temporarily suspend the announcement of annexation’.
This suggests that as ‘per usual, the Trump administration is lying and cannot be trusted.’
The Palestinian leadership is expected to meet today, Wednesday, to discuss issues of importance to the Palestinian cause, including the latest UAE-Israel-US agreement on normalisation of relations between the first two countries, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced on Monday.
The Palestinian leadership was quick to condemn the agreement as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Shtayyeh said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting that this agreement is a flagrant departure from the Arab consensus.
He rejected UAE claims that the agreement has led to the cancellation of Israeli plans to annex occupied West Bank land, saying that the decision to freeze this plan was due to the strong Palestinian opposition to it.
The government will continue in its efforts to confront the annexation plan and Israeli settlement activities, he said.
