Palestinians fail to persuade Arab ministers to condemn UAE-Israel deal

Palestinians fail to persuade Arab ministers to condemn UAE-Israel deal

Palestinian leaders won renewed Saudi support for Palestinian statehood on Wednesday, but failed to persuade the Arab League to condemn last month's normalisation deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

At a video conference of foreign ministers, the Palestinian leadership softened its own censure of the UAE for the US-brokered Aug. 13 accord, which is to be formalised at a signing ceremony at the White House next week, but to no avail.

"Discussions regarding this point were serious. It was comprehensive and took some time. But it did not lead in the end to agreement about the draft communique that was proposed by the Palestinian side," Arab League Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki told reporters.

The UAE-Israel accord was the first such accommodation between an Arab country