Omar Barghouti added that “under the excuse of fighting the virus, we must not have a ‘honeymoon’ with Israel.”
By JNS
Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement, said in a video on Sunday on Facebook that if Israel discovers a cure for coronavirus (COVID-19), then cooperation with the Jewish state is acceptable.
“If Israel finds a cure for cancer or for a virus, then there is no problem to cooperate with it,” said Barghouti.
The BDS leader also said that if Israel were to find a cure for cancer, for example, then there would be no problem to work with Israel to save millions of lives.
“But I believe that we are not yet in the stage that we need Israel in an urgent way, and it isn’t like anyone else can save us but Israel. If that was indeed the case, then saving lives is more important than anything else,” he said.
“Under the excuse of fighting the coronavirus, we must not have a ‘honeymoon’ with Israel,” he continued, adding that it is acceptable to get medical equipment from the Jewish state since cooperation in this way “is not considered as normalization.”
However, Barghouti criticized the Palestinian Authority for not “stop[ping] security cooperation with Israel.”
While experts say that there has been a “significant and positive shift” in cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians due to COVID-19, much uncertainty remains regarding what will happen if the situation in the P.A. and Gaza deteriorates.