RAMALLAH: Azerbaijan’s decision on Friday to open an embassy in Tel Aviv sparked astonishment and condemnation among Palestinians.
Azerbaijan shares a long border with Iran and is a major buyer of Israeli weapons systems. It is now set to become the first country with a Shiite majority and government to have a mission in Israel.
While some former Palestinian diplomats and political analysts sought to play down the move at a time of intense diplomatic struggles between Palestinians and Israel, others saw it as a victory for Israeli diplomacy.
Senior Arab intelligence officers told Arab News that increased cooperation between the security services of Azerbaijan and Israel in recent years meant that Israeli personnel now had free operability in areas close to the Azerbaijan-Iran border.
The Palestinian Authority’s Social Development Minister Ahmed Majdalani told Arab News that Azerbaijan would not have taken the decision to open the embassy without consulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, considering “Azerbaijan is a Turkish protectorate.”
He said he was surprised by the decision as Azerbaijan is the current chair of the Islamic summit, which has in the past been against such a move.
“Unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s decision comes at a time when the Israeli right wing is taking power in Israel, which is considered a reward for the Israeli extreme right for its attacks against the Palestinians and Islamic sanctities,” he said.
“We express our astonishment and condemnation of this uncalculated political step that harms the Palestinians.”
Israel’s outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid said he welcomed Azerbaijan’s decision, adding that the country was an essential partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world.
Lapid said the move reflected the depth of Israeli-Azerbaijani relations and was a result of the Israeli government’s efforts to build solid diplomatic bridges with the Muslim world.
“I want to thank President Ilham Aliyev and congratulate the Azeri people who will now be represented for the first time in the state of Israel,” he said.
Former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa told Arab News that he saw the opening of the embassy as an act of gratitude to Israel for providing drones, reconnaissance equipment and other military technology that helped it turn the tide in its conflict with Armenia.
But he also played down the move, and said: “I do not think that such a step will have an impact on Palestinian diplomacy, especially since countries such as the UAE and Bahrain — more important than Azerbaijan — have opened embassies in Israel before.”
Israeli political analyst Yoni Ben Menachem told Arab News that Azerbaijan played a vital role in Israel’s conflict with Iran, pointing to the use of Azerbaijani bases for launching Israeli drone strikes inside Iran and for hosting Mossad personnel.
Its security cooperation with Azerbaijan could even provide Israel with a springboard to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, he said.
Palestinian political analyst Ghassan Al-Khatib agreed that Azerbaijan’s decision to open an embassy in Tel Aviv was linked to the security cooperation between the two countries, but said it came “at the expense of international principles, obligations and laws.”
“Opening an embassy … will not change the political reality. Israel is still an occupying state and Jerusalem is still an occupied city,” he said.