Algeria and Qatar join growing opposition against Arab-Israel deals

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has said Algeria will never be part of an agreement to normalise relations with Israel.

Tebboune condemned the formally signed deal between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE to normalise their ties last week at the White House, in an interview with Algerian media on Sunday.

Algeria will not normalise ties with Israel nor bless any of the Arab countries that have made "a kind of rush towards normalisation".

“The Palestinian issue is sacred for us and it is the mother of all issues and will not be resolved except by establishing a Palestinian state, with the 1967 borders, with Holy Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.

For decades, most Arab states have boycotted Israel, insisting they would establish ties once the Palestinian conflict is resolved.

The US-brokered deal in mid-August has drawn heavy criticism from several other Arab countries, including Qatar and Morocco.

READ MORE: UAE-Bahrain deal with Israel represents a tiny minority of the Arab world

Tebboune's stance follows Qatar's, where the Foreign Affairs Ministry issued remarks on Sunday in support of Palestinians. 

Qatar affirms support for Palestine

“The State of Qatar affirmed its firm position on the Palestinian issue, which stipulates ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital within the framework of international legitimacy and relevant Security Council resolutions while granting all Palestinian refugees the right of return,” Qatar News Agency quoted the statement.

Qatar, the report said, would spare no effort in providing all it can to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians until they get their legitimate rights.

"It is regrettable to see some misleading media campaigns that try to mix up issues and distort the image of the State of Qatar at the expense of the brotherly Palestinian people, and their legitimate rights at this defining moment in the history of the conflict."

Moroccans protest deal as 'treason'

Despite a government ban on large gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, scores of demonstrators protested outside the Moroccan Parliament to denounce Arab countries agreeing to normalise relations with Israel.

Protesters in Morocco's capital of Rabat on Friday waved Palestinian flags, decrying the deals as "treason" and chanting "Palestine is not for sale."

The protesters in Rabat also burned a mock Israeli flag. Dozens of police officers watched the scene from a distance.

READ MORE: Moroccans protest Arab 'treason' against Palestinians after Israel deal

Convincing other countries

Following last month's deal, US President Donald Trump urged Saudi Arabia's King Salman for his help in negotiating with other Gulf countries to resolve the rift with Israel. 

The leaders spoke by phone as the United Arab Emirates agreed to become the third Arab state to normalise ties with Israel after Egypt and Jordan.

King Salman reiterated a fair and permanent solution for Palestine was the main starting point of the kingdom's proposed Arab Peace Initiative, the kingdom's official news agency reported.

READ MORE: The normalisation of ties with Israel has another target: Turkey