Palestinian group Hamas condemned the statements of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, labeling the group as a terrorist organization.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasim posted a message on Twitter, saying, “Bin Zayed’s call for the western countries to designate Hamas as a terrorist group runs counter to Arab values.”
According to the spokesperson, Bin Zayed’s remarks follow the same line with “the failed Zionist propaganda and contradict the Arab public support to the resistance in Palestine.”
The UAE Foreign Minister’s remarks came during his speech addressing the American Jewish Committee. In his speech, Abdullah bin Zayed expressed his disappointment that he felt for the failure of some countries in designating Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Along with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood were other groups that Bin Zayed labeled as terrorist organizations.
Also, the UAE Foreign Minister noted during his speech, “It is ridiculous that some governments only call the military branch of an organization terrorist and go beyond its political branch, while there is no difference between them.”
Following the recent clashes exchanged between Israel and Hamas, the UAE pledged a multi-million-dollar aid package for the reconstruction of Gaza on the condition that Hamas must stay out of the mechanism.
During the Israeli attacks targeting Gaza, it drew attention that the UAE’s reaction stayed at a lower tone. Some analysts speculated that this situation derives from the fact that the UAE refrains from vexing Israel.
Last September, the UAE and Israel sealed the US-brokered agreement to normalize bilateral relations.
