UAE delegation visits Israeli parliament following apartheid report
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UAE's visit to "Israel" was a visit of reassurance of the ties between the two.
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Trump's advisor, Jared Kushner (left) and his national security advisor, Robert O’Brien walking down the Israeli El Al plane, which was carrying a US-Israeli delegation to the UAE after the normalization agreements were brokered, on August 31, 2020. (AFP)
Despite Israeli violations against Palestine, Yemen, and world leaders and activists, the UAE continues to go forward with its relations with the occupation.
For the first time, an Emirati delegation has made its way to the Israeli parliament since normalizing ties in 2020. The visit comes on the heel of Amnesty's long-awaited report revealing the atrocities committed by "Israel", labeling its policies as apartheid per excellence.
The visit, accompanied by three members of the UAE Federal National Council, focused on "engagement in all sectors" in the post-normalization period.
"When we talk about [normalization] agreements, we want you to look at the big picture," Ali Rashid Al-Nuaimi, chairman of the council's defense, interior, and foreign affairs committee, said at the Israeli foreign and security committee. "It's not a political agreement only, it's not an issue related to security and defense. No, it is an agent of change for the whole region," Al-Nuaimi said, advocating "full engagement in all sectors".
Read more: Fears arise: Israeli flights to Dubai may be suspended over security standards
Before going to the Knesset, the UAE delegation when to "Yad Vashem", which is a Holocaust memorial in "Israel."
Al-Nuaimi asserted that nothing will change the normalization of tied between the UAE and "Israel," referring to the 2021 war on Gaza.
"People were questioning what will happen to the agreements," he said. "I want everyone to know there is no way back, we are moving forward, we are not repeating history, we are writing history."
The Head of the Israeli foreign and security committee hosted Nuaimi, in addition to council members Sara Falaknaz and Marwan Almheiri. Knesset member Ram Ben Barak described them as "neighbors and brothers."
"There's a misconception, as though the normalization agreement was based on just one element, of shared threats and challenges, but that's the smallest part of the deal," he said. "'Israel' is committed to the agreement and plans on enhancing and expanding it in all fields."
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
