Hamas slams UAE-Israel deal to establish ties

A top Emirati official says the deal announced by President Trump for the United Arab Emirates to establish ties with Israel dealt a “death blow” to moves by Israel to annex Palestinian lands.

The Hamas militant group has accused the United Arab Emirates of stabbing the Palestinians in the back by agreeing to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel. The reaction came shortly after President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the UAE and Israel have agreed to full diplomatic relations as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

"This announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupation's crimes," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. "The normalization is a stabbing in the back of our people." The Islamic militant Hamas movement seeks Israel's destruction and has fought three wars and has fought three wars against Israel since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. A top Emirati official says the deal announced by President Trump for the United Arab Emirates to establish ties with Israel dealt a "death blow" to moves by Israel to annex Palestinian lands. Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Thursday that the Emiratis wanted to "try and put one on one together" and develop an organic relationship that was already existing in many fields.

"Let us try and get something tangible," he said. He described it as a "bold step."