Blowback: UAE-"Israel" Ties Undermine Emirati & Regional Security

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The normalization deal, signed between the United Arab Emirates and the Zionist entity, perhaps the most integral to the Trump era’s so-called “Abraham Accords”, is working to the overall detriment of Abu Dhabi’s security due to the regional divisions it has stirred.

Celebrated as a “historic peace treaty” in 2020, despite there being no state of war between "Tel Aviv" and Abu Dhabi and secret coordination for decades, UAE-"Israel" normalization has, instead of creating peace, ushered in an era of insecurity never witnessed in the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation before. The UAE is a well-known tourist destination and has been part of the Arab reactionary regime camp for a long time, making it unsurprising that it would make such a move toward normalizing ties with "Israel", but this was a strategic mistake.

Abu Dhabi is now stuck in between a rock and a hard place, playing an ongoing balancing act between the Islamic Republic of Iran, a long-time trade partner, and the Israeli regime. Whilst the UAE is currently the top import partner for Tehran and possesses many companies vital for the sale of Iranian goods and resources, the new Israeli strategic partnership that the UAE is engaged in is raising tensions with the Islamic Republic due to "Israel’s" increasing demands.

In August, three strikes were launched, using suicide drones and ballistic missiles, by Yemen’s Ansar Allah government forces. In the first attack, three were killed in Abu Dhabi and the final strike of the month caused panic as Ansar Allah was not deterred from striking the UAE’s Capital, even with the presence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog there. For a long time, it was thought that the UAE was out of reach for the Ansar Allah’s attacks and many analysts speculated that due to Iran being a vital trade partner, the Yemeni Resistance would not strike the oil-rich nation. Clearly, this has turned out not to be the case.

In the wake of the Ansar Allah retaliatory strikes on the UAE, both "Tel Aviv" and Washington have jumped in to sell new state-of-the-art weapons technology to the Emiratis. Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, quickly offered ‘security and intelligence support’ to the UAE and later would offer to participate in the fight against the Yemeni resistance. As a form of retaliation against Ansar Allah, the UAE, along with its Saudi coalition partners in the war on Yemen, launched strikes on a plethora of targets resulting in the destruction of Yemeni infrastructure and the murder of hundreds. Yet, the attacks have made no difference, Ansar Allah can still launch strikes on the UAE as and when it pleases. The air defense systems in the Emirates have also proven to be ineffective in that no matter how good those defenses may be, some missiles will always hit their targets. 

Then there is another issue: even if the air defense systems provided by "Tel Aviv" and Washington were to be one hundred percent effective, the fear that is caused by the explosions and air defenses' missiles' physical presence in the skies will make places like Dubai undesirable for tourists. In addition to this, the Israeli military buildup in the UAE is of great concern to Tehran, which sees this as a direct threat to its own security and will cause a greater rift between the two nations.

Israelis have also been causing a nuisance in Dubai, some caught drug smuggling, and many caught stealing, whilst the prostitution industry has skyrocketed there with Israeli presence... all these activities evidently were not showing much respect to the culture in the UAE. Then we have the fact that "Israel" has been actively pressuring Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to stop his tightening of trade ties with Iran, calling it “unacceptable” in an attempt to bring the UAE into the regional anti-Iran axis. Moreover, a rift may be coming between the UAE and "Israel" as there has been an ongoing dispute about “security measure” concessions demanded for Israeli flights to enter Dubai’s airspace, as an Israeli official told Reuters, "If El Al [Israeli airline] can't fly to the Emirates, then Emirati companies can't land here."

Unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE has direct access to open a dialogue with Tehran regarding the war on Yemen. It is clear from the example that Riyadh has set, according to which more air defense equipment and offensive weapons will not stop Ansar Allah from striking into the heart of Saudi territory, that if Abu Dhabi pursues the same failed strategy as Saudi Arabia does, it would be strategically ridiculous. Instead of limiting, or even ending its role in the war on Yemen, by speaking to Ansar Allah’s ally Iran, the UAE is seemingly going in the very opposite direction to appease its Western allies.

So what has the UAE gained, on its own road to try and become a regional superpower, by normalizing ties with "Israel"? It has increased its role in Yemen, created tension with Iran, and sacrificed its status as a safe tourist hub in the Gulf. Its citizens are now subjected to missiles and drones flying through their skies, threatening the tourist industry, and the country has witnessed a decline in its regional standing which could result in devastating consequences at any time. Then there’s the issue of the Palestinian people: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and "Israel’s" B’Tselem are all saying that Palestinians are facing an Apartheid Regime. The United Arab Emirates betrayed the Palestinian people, embarrassed themselves, and sacrificed their pride. They even side against the Palestinian people now and have actively trained alongside the Israeli occupation forces.