GAZA: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on all Arab countries to abide by the Arab Peace Initiative, launched in 2002, which stipulates that the Arabs can only normalize relations with Israel after the Palestinian issue is resolved.

The president’s remarks came during a meeting of the Palestinian leadership, with the participation of representatives of the Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad movement, held in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The president said that the peace deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel was a stab in the Palestinians back.

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Meanwhile, Iran has also urged Muslim states to condemn recent agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize ties.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that the deal between the UAE and Israel undermines all efforts by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States to take practical and serious measures for restoration of Palestinian rights.