Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki criticized, Sunday, the normalization of relations between certain Arab countries and Israel. In a speech he delivered during the emergency meeting of the Executive Committee of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, convened by Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Minister denounced the «normalization» of certain states. «The normalization and rush towards this racist and colonial Israeli system without achieving peace and ending the Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands is seen as support to the apartheid regime and participation in its crimes», he argued. The Palestinian diplomat added that «the colonial occupation must be confronted, dismantled, ended and prohibited». For the record, four Arab countries signed agreements last year to normalize their relations with Israel, namely Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. 218 Palestinians were killed and 5,600 others were injured during Israel's aggression in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the past week.
