JERUSALEM, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on Tuesday called on the Palestinians to get back to the negotiation table.
The remark was made during a rare interview by an Israeli politician to the daily United Arab Emirates (UAE) newspaper Al-Ittihad.
"I call on the Palestinian leadership to recognize reality and show responsibility and leadership as did the UAE leaders, by returning to the negotiating table," Ashkenazi said, according to a Hebrew translation of the interview issued by the Israeli foreign ministry.
Speaking ahead of a White House ceremony to sign a normalization deal between Israel and the UAE, Ashkenazi said he believes the agreement will "significantly contribute to achieving peace, stability and security in the region."
According to Ashkenazi, the agreement strengthens the understanding that the time has come to move forward and that "one must not remain stuck in the past."
The Palestinian leadership, which has long accused the Trump administration of being biased in favor of Israel, condemned the deals. According to Palestinian officials, the deals betrayal the Palestinian cause of ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which were first seized by Israel during a 1967 war.
Later on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump will host a ceremony to sign agreements to form official ties between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain.
The UAE and Bahrain became the first Gulf countries to agree to establish official relations with Israel.
Previously, only two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, had signed peace agreements with Israel. Enditem
