Palestinian Authority Says Seeks Warm Relations With Syria, Russia in ‘New Middle East’
WEST BANK (Sputnik) – The Palestinian leadership is quietly reconsidering its place in the constellation of Middle Eastern geopolitics following a string of recent normalization deals between a number of Arab governments and the Zionist regime, with an eye toward further warming relations with Syria and Russia, according to a member of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
"After the recent deals between Israel and the Arab governments, we Palestinians will now adopt a strategy of more carefully balancing our relationships in the Middle East, where political dynamics are changing fast, and a new region is being born. We see it as important to continue building our relations with Russia, which is playing a greater and more important role in this new Middle East. But also, we seek to continue stretching ties with President Bashar al-Assad who has now retaken most of his country from the militants, and who has always been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause” the PA official who preferred to stay unnamed told Sputnik from his residence in the city of Ramallah.
The "deals” signed between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates with the occupying regime of Israel in September 2020 were mediated by the Trump administration. The accords set the course for the normalization of relations between Tel Aviv and those two Arab states, and were the first of their kind to have occurred since agreements struck with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. On the heels of the accords, the occupying regime and Sudan agreed to normalize bilateral relations in October 2020, followed by the regime and Morocco in December.
Palestinian Authority Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh called upon the Arab signatories to "immediately retract” what he described as the "despicable decision” and "betrayal” to sign peace treaties with the Zionist regime.
The senior PA official told Sputnik that siding with those regional actors who "have always stood with the Palestinian struggle,” such as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will become increasingly important.
He added that in order to work on strengthening relations with Syria, officials from the PA have taken a number of senior-levels trips to Damascus to meet with the Assad government in recent months and years.
"We have visited Syria many times in recent years. We met with, among others, the Syrian Foreign Minister to discuss the situation in both our countries, and how to respond to the United States’ support for Israel’s increased violations of Palestinian rights, including those under Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century. On future visits, we are likely to discuss how the non-aligned Arabs can collectively respond to the Abraham Accords,” the official explained.
"After the recent deals between Israel and the Arab governments, we Palestinians will now adopt a strategy of more carefully balancing our relationships in the Middle East, where political dynamics are changing fast, and a new region is being born. We see it as important to continue building our relations with Russia, which is playing a greater and more important role in this new Middle East. But also, we seek to continue stretching ties with President Bashar al-Assad who has now retaken most of his country from the militants, and who has always been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause” the PA official who preferred to stay unnamed told Sputnik from his residence in the city of Ramallah.
The "deals” signed between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates with the occupying regime of Israel in September 2020 were mediated by the Trump administration. The accords set the course for the normalization of relations between Tel Aviv and those two Arab states, and were the first of their kind to have occurred since agreements struck with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. On the heels of the accords, the occupying regime and Sudan agreed to normalize bilateral relations in October 2020, followed by the regime and Morocco in December.
Palestinian Authority Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh called upon the Arab signatories to "immediately retract” what he described as the "despicable decision” and "betrayal” to sign peace treaties with the Zionist regime.
The senior PA official told Sputnik that siding with those regional actors who "have always stood with the Palestinian struggle,” such as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will become increasingly important.
He added that in order to work on strengthening relations with Syria, officials from the PA have taken a number of senior-levels trips to Damascus to meet with the Assad government in recent months and years.
"We have visited Syria many times in recent years. We met with, among others, the Syrian Foreign Minister to discuss the situation in both our countries, and how to respond to the United States’ support for Israel’s increased violations of Palestinian rights, including those under Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century. On future visits, we are likely to discuss how the non-aligned Arabs can collectively respond to the Abraham Accords,” the official explained.