Kuwaiti News Anchor Calls Palestinian Rejection of UAE-Israel Peace Deal ‘Historic Mistake’

Graham Piro (FREE BEACON)

Kuwaiti television anchor Fajer Alsaeed said this week that the Palestinian rejection of the agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel is a “historic mistake.”

“If the Palestinians reject the benefits that the UAE managed to achieve for them, there will not be a second chance. I hope that they will deal with it reasonably and do away with the revolutionary spirit that is not suitable for this day and age,” Alsaeed said Monday, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

“I believe that this is a historic mistake by the Palestinian decision-makers,” she added.

The UAE-Israel deal, which the Trump administration helped to broker, saw the two sides agree to a “full normalization of relations,” including business and diplomatic relations. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to halt the Israeli annexation of territory in the West Bank in return for the recognition.

The Palestinian Authority denounced the agreement. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called the deal “nonsense” and accused the UAE of turning its back on Palestinians.

Iran and Turkey also joined in on the criticism of the agreement. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country is considering cutting ties with the UAE, and Iran called the deal a “historic mistake.”

In the past Alsaeed met with Abbas, but last year she received criticism and death threats after she called for “greater acceptance of peace with Israel.” The network she founded, Scope TV, has faced backlash for criticizing Kuwaiti officials, and an armed mob even overran the studio in 2010 in response to her perceived critiques of the Kuwaiti ruling family. Three members of the Kuwaiti ruling family were found responsible for the attack in court, according to AFP.