Abbas: ‘No peace in Mideast without end to Israel occupation’

Only an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories can bring peace to the Middle East, said Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said as the UAE and Bahrain signed normalization accords with the Jewish state.

“Peace, security and stability will not be achieved in the region until the Israeli occupation ends,” he said in a statement, cited by AFP.

Abbas’ remarks came after Tuesday’s signing in Washington of the deals.

In front of a crowd of several hundred people on the White House lawn, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed accords with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani.

The deals make them the third and fourth Arab states to take such steps to normalize ties since Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.