Mon 19 October 2020:
Daesh has urged its followers to target Saudi Arabia’s oil pipelines and factories in a statement denouncing the normalisation of relations between the UAE and Bahrain, and Israel. The terror group said that the so-called Abraham Accords formalised last month in Washington are a betrayal of Islam and accuse Riyadh of being complicit in the normalisation process.
“Targets are plenty… Start by hitting and destroying oil pipelines, factories, and facilities which are the source [of income] of the tyrant government,” said Daesh spokesman Abu Hamza Al-Quraishi in a recording that was posted on Telegram social media app.
Saudi Arabia is under pressure to follow its Gulf neighbours and normalise relations with the Zionist state. Riyadh, however, continues to insist that Israel would need to end its occupation of Palestine and allow the establishment of a Palestinian state before it agrees to such a move.
In 2002 Riyadh offered Israel full normalisation in what was known as the “Arab Peace Initiative,” on the condition that it ended its occupation. Despite insisting publicly on securing Palestinian statehood prior to any normalisation, the Saudis are said to on the verge of a policy U-turn.
Critics have pointed out that the peace deal is a post-Trump insurance policy. The suggestion is that the close ties with Washington enjoyed by Gulf autocrats over the past four years will come to an end under a Democrat administration if Joe Biden wins the presidential election next month. Normalising ties with Israel will shield Riyadh and the UAE from any future backlash from the US.
Article Originally Published in Middle East Monitor CLICK HERE
