BDS co-founder warns First Abu Dhabi Bank against doing business with Israel

(MEMRI via JNS) - The BDS movement is monitoring the activity of Arab companies regarding Israel in the wake of the peace deals signed last month between the Jewish state, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, according to BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti.

In a video uploaded to the YouTube channel of the Bahraini Society Against Normalization on Sept. 17, Barghouti singled out First Abu Dhabi Bank, which he said has been in dialogue with Israeli banks Leumi and Hapoalim.

"With the help of our friends in the UAE, in Bahrain, and everywhere, we monitor the Arab companies that are normalizing with Israel," he said.

"We monitor these companies, and we have published a clear stance from the Arab civil society-not just from Palestine, in which we call for the boycotting of every company and every establishment that gets involved in implementing the agreements of shame and betrayal of the Palestinian cause, beginning with the First Abu Dhabi Bank," he said.

The UAE bank had been warned, according to Barghouti, that if it inks a deal with an Israeli counterpart, "we will call for a boycott."

"It is not easy to boycott a bank of such magnitude," he said, "however, the bank should know that we have the power to influence the public opinion, and to harm its reputation and its market."

Barghouti warned the bank "not to underestimate the BDS movement," which he said had brought "huge companies like Veolia to their knees" and successfully pressured major international banks.