Kazakhstan has announced its decision to join the U.S.-led “Abraham Accords”, becoming the first country to do so during Donald Trump’s second presidential term — a decision seen as normalizing relations with the Israeli occupation at a time of ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

Trump revealed the development on his platform Truth Social following a phone call between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, boasting that Kazakhstan’s move would mark the start of “many more countries” joining the accords.

“Kazakhstan is the first country of my second term to join the Abraham Accords — the first of many,” Trump wrote, describing the expansion as a “major step forward in building bridges across the world.”

Critics, however, have described the announcement as a blatant betrayal of the Palestinian people, coming at a time when Israel continues its relentless bombardment and blockade of Gaza — a campaign that has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths, the destruction of entire neighborhoods, and the starvation of civilians under siege.

While Kazakhstan and Israel have maintained diplomatic ties for more than 30 years, joining the normalization framework is viewed as a symbolic but dangerous act, aligning Astana with a U.S.-Israeli agenda that seeks to legitimize occupation and erase Palestinian suffering from global discourse.

Analysts argue that Washington is attempting to rehabilitate Israel’s collapsing image in the Muslim world after months of horrific crimes in Gaza. Trump’s renewed push for normalization, they say, is part of an effort to “turn the page” on Israel’s war crimes rather than demand accountability.

The move has provoked anger and disappointment across the Muslim world, where the memory of Gaza’s devastation remains fresh. Civil society groups and pro-Palestinian activists have condemned Kazakhstan’s decision as a stain on the Muslim conscience, accusing Astana of choosing political gain over solidarity with the oppressed.

“Joining the Abraham Accords while Palestinian children are being bombed and starved is nothing short of complicity,” said one activist. “This is not peace — it is normalization with genocide.”

Trump and his administration have long touted the Abraham Accords as a “path to peace,” yet for Palestinians and much of the Muslim world, the agreements are seen as a tool to normalize occupation and silence resistance.

As Gaza continues to bleed and millions of Palestinians remain displaced, true peace, they insist, can only come with justice, liberation, and an end to Israel’s brutal occupation — not with photo-op accords that serve the oppressor. (ILKHA)