ABU DHABI (Dispatches) –
Zionist prime minister Naftali Bennett has conducted a surprise visit to the United Arab Emirates, his second public trip to Abu Dhabi since the occupying regime and the UAE formally normalized ties in 2020 after years of quiet cooperation.
A statement from Bennett’s office said the Zionist premier will meet UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and that the two will discuss “various regional issues”.
The Palestinian resistance movement Islamic Jihad denounced the UAE for hosting the occupying regime’s prime minister, saying Abu Dhabi’s insistence on expanding ties with the regime amounts to turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians.
Tariq Salmi, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad, in a statement, said the Arab country’s growing proximity with the regime shows contempt for Palestinian lives.
“Insistence on normalization of ties and establishment of all-out relations with the Israeli enemy amounts to a denial of all forms of sufferings that Palestinians are experiencing as a result of the escalating Zionist aggression and terrorism in Al-Quds and the West Bank,” he said.
Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan were other countries to normalize ties with the Zionist regime at that time.
Last month, Zionist regime and the UAE finalized a free trade agreement as part of the normalization process between them and drew sharp criticisms from Muslim countries.
The UAE officially inaugurated its embassy in the Israeli-occupied territories on July 14, 2021 and the Zionist regime opened its embassy in the Emirati capital in June last year.
Meanwhile, the Tunisian foreign ministry in a statement refuted reports about back-channel diplomatic talks between the North African country and the Zionist regime.
The ministry in a statement on Thursday said some websites affiliated with the Zionist regime have been spreading the rumors in an attempt to harm the image of Tunisia and its pro-Palestine position.