Normalization of Ties with Israel A Threat to Arab, Islamic Identity: Hamas
Ismail Rizwan told Sawt al-Quds Radio that normalizing ties with the occupation entity threatens not only the Palestinian cause but also the Arab and Islamic identity.
He said the move by certain Arab regimes to normalize relations with Tel Aviv was a stab in the back of the Palestinian nation and a crime that encourages the occupiers to commit more atrocities against Palestinians.
Rizwan called on those regimes to fully sever ties with the Zionists and urged all-out isolation of the Israeli regime.
He also praised a Bahraini official who was dismissed recently for refusing to shake hands with the Zionist regime’s envoy to the Persian Gulf country.
Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, was sacked by order of Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, according to Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network.
The controversy arose last month, when US Ambassador to Bahrain Steven C. Bondy held a memorial service at his home for his father, to which Sheikha Mai was invited.
When greeting the guests at the ceremony, the Bahraini royal family member reportedly withdrew her hand and refused to shake the hand of Eitan Na'eh, the Israeli ambassador in Manama.
She then left and asked the US embassy to not publish any pictures of her attending the ceremony, according to the report.
Sheikha Mai has carried out official duties for more than 20 years. She previously served as the Bahraini information minister, the first woman to hold the office.
She also served as Bahrain's culture minister and was named the sixth most powerful Arab woman of 2014 in a list compiled by Forbes Middle East.
Lately, Shaikha Mai reportedly opposed plans aimed at Judaization of Old Manama neighborhoods, such as Bab al-Bahrain in the central business district of Manama, and al-Mutanabbi Avenue.
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