United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring an end to the war in Gaza during talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, UAE state news agency WAM reported on Saturday.
It was Netanyahu’s first meeting with a senior Arab official since Israel’s September 9 strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, an operation the UAE condemned and protested by summoning Israel’s deputy ambassador in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Abdullah stressed the UAE’s “unwavering commitment to supporting all initiatives aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, in a way that fulfills the aspirations of both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples,” according to WAM.
The meeting highlighted the growing strain in UAE-Israel relations, despite the 2020 Abraham Accords that normalized diplomatic ties and opened the door to wide-ranging economic and defense cooperation.
Earlier this month, the UAE warned that any Israeli annexation of territory in the occupied West Bank would cross a “red line” and could jeopardize bilateral relations. Sources told Reuters that Abu Dhabi may consider downgrading ties if Netanyahu proceeds with annexation plans.
The diplomatic push comes amid mounting international pressure on Israel. Last week, France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized a Palestinian state, citing frustration over the ongoing conflict and the humanitarian toll in Gaza. Israel, however, denounced the move, with Netanyahu rejecting any prospect of a Palestinian state under his government, the most far-right in Israel’s history.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed about 1,200 people, has since killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced nearly the entire population of the enclave.
The UAE, a key Gulf oil producer and trade hub with diplomatic clout across the Middle East, has sought to balance its ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords with its longstanding advocacy for Palestinian statehood.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
