UAE: A strained lifeline for 'Israel' in Middle East
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Writing to the NYT, the government of the Emirates claimed that its normalization with the Israeli occupation was used to help send aid into Gaza.
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Israeli soldiers drive a tank in the Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 10, 2024 (AP Photo)
According to The New York Times, the United Arab Emirates has maintained ties with "Israel" throughout the war on Gaza, but the connection, which was established through an agreement negotiated by the United States, is under strain as anti-Israeli sentiment continues to grow.
Only a few years ago, many in the UAE were eager to see where their ties with "Israel" were headed after the Abraham Accords.
The normalization agreements, known as the "Abraham Accords", saw the establishment of embassy relations between some Arab states and the Israeli occupation regime and that of direct flights, as well as the establishment of bank communications on tourist trips and official visits between "Tel Aviv" and the UAE, Morocco, and Bahrain.
Read: Israeli-Saudi normalization in Checkmate, a realist analysis
However, after months of destruction and over 31,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, Emiratis are no longer as enthusiastic about their ties with the occupation.
According to Dubai's deputy police chief in an online post, Arabs had intentions for true peace while the occupation "proved that its intentions are evil." Another Emirati businessman told NYT that he left an Emirati-Israeli business council.
Analysts think neither the Emirates nor "Israel" are likely to back away from the pact. However, Mohammed Baharoon, the chairman of B'huth, a Dubai research institute, believes that the war's present track does not augur well for the normalization agreements or Middle Eastern stability.
According to Baharoon, if one partner is not "paying their dues, then it's not a partnership anymore."
Jordan recalled its ambassador in November and the occupation's ambassadors to Bahrain, Morocco, and Egypt have mostly remained in "Israel" since the war began.
No plans of cutting ties, 'diplomacy important'
Several government-owned carriers have also ceased operations, leaving the Emirates as the sole Middle Eastern country with direct flights to the occupation. Yet Emirati officials say they have no plans of cutting ties.
Writing to the NYT, the government of the Emirates claimed that this relationship was used to help send aid into Gaza, citing that the UAE believes "diplomatic and political communications are important in difficult times such as those we are witnessing."
Even if the accords remain in place, many Israelis and Emiratis believe the future of the relations is uncertain.
Noa Gastfreund is an Israeli co-founder of the Tech Zone, a company that brings together Emirati and Israeli technology entrepreneurs and investors reported that “The romantic phase of the Abraham Accords kind of faded away."
Expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the most-right-wing Israeli government have not helped, and during a conference in September, a senior Emirati official said the relationship was "going through a difficult time."
Tensions have only increased since the war began.
One anonymous Emirati spoke with NYT, telling the publication that as images of killed Palestinians surfaced, the relationship with the occupation was "demoralizing," since Palestinians were considered "brothers" needing protection.
According to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the Emirati attitude toward "Israel" was already going down a dark path. In November 2022, 71% of those polled in the Emirates said the agreements were having a "negative" impact on their region.
Emirati UN representative Lana Nusseibeh recently stated during Dubai conference that the Emirates would not fund the reconstruction of Gaza without an "irreversible" pathway to Palestinian state.
