RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Wednesday called on the Arab countries to reject a controversial agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel to normalize their relations.

"We reject the Emirati normalization move and we hope that you [Arab countries] will not accept it,” al-Maliki said at a virtual ministerial meeting of the Arab League.

The top Palestinian diplomat described the Emirati-Israeli deal as an “earthquake that struck the Arab position”.

Al-Maliki said Palestine had requested an urgent meeting of the Arab League to discuss the UAE-Israeli normalization agreement.

“An Arab state, however, objected to the request and asked to discuss it at a regular session,” he said, in reference to Bahrain.

On Aug. 13, the UAE and Israel announced a US-brokered agreement to normalize relations, including opening embassies in each other's territory.

The Palestinian Authority and resistance factions denounced the deal, saying it does not serve the Palestinian cause and ignores the rights of Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority said any deal with Israel should be based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative on the principle of "land for peace" and not "peace for peace" as Israel claims.

* Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara