Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington, D.C., today ahead of Tuesday’s White House ceremony, where he will sign the U.S.-brokered normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Palestinians protested over the weekend following the announcement of the deal with Bahrain Friday, just weeks after it was announced Israel and the UAE would establish diplomatic relations. This is Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Saeb Erekat: “The Bahrain-American-Israeli agreement to normalize relations is now part of a bigger package in the region. It’s not about peace. It’s not about relations between countries. We are witnessing an alliance, a military alliance, being created in the region. Maybe they want to call it an Arab-Israel-NATO.”

Analysts have pointed to a clause in the accords that leaves the door open to allowing Jewish prayer at the holy mosque of Al-Aqsa, which is now forbidden, and could be seen as a major act of aggression.