Muhammed Jamil
Anyone closely observing the behaviour of the leaders of the Emirati regime, particularlyunder the leadership of Mohammed bin Zayed, in handling sensitive regional issues—foremost among them, the Arab-Israeli conflict—will find that this small state has inflictedpainful betrayals on the Palestinian cause. The UAE is not merely a pioneer of normalisationwith the occupation state; rather, it aligns itself completely with the ideology of the far-rightextremists seeking to seize the land and its people.
The justifications presented by the Emirati regime for signing the Abraham Accords—claiming a pursuit of peace in the region and assistance for Palestinians in obtaining theirrights—have been exposed as blatant lies. Following the agreement, Israeli actions in Palestine demonstrated the exact opposite. Settlement expansion not only continued but intensified, while settler attacks on Palestinian civilians and Al-Aqsa Mosque escalated toalarming levels. Reports even surfaced suggesting that Israel was preparing to build the Third Temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
All of this occurred under the watchful eye of Mohammed bin Zayed, who remainedcompletely passive—not even issuing a symbolic condemnation or threatening to freezeagreements. Instead, relations between the two sides strengthened. High-level visitscontinued, security, military, and economic cooperation flourished, and Emirati businessmeninvested in Israeli settlements and donated to extremist settler organizations.
What is particularly alarming about this normalization is that the Emirati regime imposed it upon its people, forbidding any form of solidarity or even sympathy with Palestinians underthe threat of imprisonment or deportation. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers roamed freely in theUAE, holding Torah celebrations that glorified Israel, cursed Arabs, and wished them death.
Mohammed bin Zayed did not stop at normalizing ties within his own country, Bahrain, andMorocco; he sought to enforce normalization across the entire Arab world—sometimesthrough incentives and other times through coercion. A striking example of this was theUAE’s role in exacerbating the conflict between Morocco and Algeria, pressuring Algeria intoan unusually aggressive media campaign against Bin Zayed.
This pattern persisted until the outbreak of the October 7 events and Israel’s subsequent brutalaggression against Gaza, which has lasted over fifteen months. During this period, the Israelioccupation forces committed unprecedented crimes—acts of genocide that claimed the livesof tens of thousands of women and children while destroying over 80% of Gaza’sinfrastructure. Yet, despite the harrowing images of murder, destruction, and starvation, theEmirati regime remained unmoved, failing even to take the most basic humanitarian steps totell Israel, “Enough.”
Shockingly, normalization not only continued but deepened. Mohammed bin Zayed remainedunwavering in his commitments to the Israelis and Americans, as promised in the Abraham Accords—ensuring that UAE-Israel ties would not be affected, regardless of Israeli actionsagainst Palestinians. Business went on as usual, with Israeli delegations actively participatingin military and economic exhibitions, securing their own pavilions, attending high-levelconferences, and enjoying full Emirati support. The UAE even promoted images of theseevents, indifferent to criticism. Meanwhile, countries geographically distant from Palestine—such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, Honduras, Colombia, Bolivia, and South Africa—raised theirvoices against Israeli crimes, some even severing diplomatic ties.
When the Houthis targeted ships heading to Israel via the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, causingsupply shortages in Israel, Mohammed bin Zayed rushed to the rescue. He established a landcorridor through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to occupied Palestine to ensure the flowof essential goods—an effort that played a significant role in preventing the collapse of Israel’s economy.
To mask its complicity, the UAE launched a humanitarian campaign called “Gallant Knight,” though it bore no resemblance to its name. It was nothing more than a propaganda effort towhitewash the Emirati regime’s crimes. Testimonies from Gaza and international reportsconfirmed that, throughout the 15-month war, shortages of food, medicine, and fuel onlyworsened, and the UAE’s so-called aid was negligible in alleviating the humanitarian crisis.
Additionally, the Emirati media machine relentlessly echoed Israeli narratives, oftensurpassing Israeli media in hostility toward Palestinians. The UAE actively worked tosabotage every attempt at serious resolutions in Arab and Islamic summits, as well as in international forums convened to address the genocide.
American investigative journalist Bob Woodward, in his book The War, published in October2024, exposed the Emirati regime’s real stance on the genocide. He revealed that behindclosed doors, Mohammed bin Zayed’s private conversations starkly contradicted his publicstatements. During a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Bin Zayedreportedly said: “Israel must be patient. It has all the space it needs to finish the job andeliminate the factions in Gaza. At the same time, Israel should allow us to send aid tomaintain public support.”
Beyond this, the UAE actively pressured nations through diplomatic channels to adopt theIsraeli narrative and refrain from taking measures against Israel. It even attempted to coerceSouth Africa into withdrawing its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. However, South Africa refused to yield, standing firm in its legal battle—a case that, tellingly, was only supported by Turkey and Libya from the Arab and Muslim world.
Despite all its efforts to ensure Israel’s continued genocide, the UAE ultimately failed. As Donald Trump neared his return to the White House, he exerted pressure for a ceasefireagreement, ultimately securing a fragile truce. But within days of taking office, Trump unveiled a shocking new proposal—mass displacement of Gaza’s population. When askedabout this plan, Emirati Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba remarked: “It’s difficult, but there’s no alternative!”
This dangerous statement, celebrated by Trump on his platform, and the Emirati regime’sfailure to take action against its ambassador, confirm that the UAE remains committed to a singular path—serving the agendas of the U.S. and Israel in the region. The hollow rhetoricabout defending Palestinian rights in international forums is nothing but blatant deception.
It is now abundantly clear that the Emirati regime will never abandon normalization withIsrael, as its survival is intertwined with the fate of the occupation state under Americanprotection. The UAE, increasingly labelled as a rogue state due to the devastation it has wrought in neighbouring countries, cannot afford to break away from this sinister alliance—knowing that, the moment it does, the people it has deeply wounded will rise against it.
We recognize that Arab regimes are not innocent in their dealings with Israel, whether in secret or in public. Jordan and Egypt, both bound by peace treaties with Israel, havemaintained their agreements regardless of events in Palestine. However, they took a firmstance against Trump’s displacement plan and have not weaponized their wealth to fuelregional conflicts as the UAE has.
It is also well-known that these regimes, without exception, have perpetrated countless crimesagainst their own people over decades, simply for demanding change. During the Arab Spring uprisings, these regimes, bankrolled by Emirati funds, crushed revolutions with violence, imprisonment, and torture—entrenching dictatorship, corruption, and economic plunder.
Given the Emirati regime’s extensive domestic and regional damage, isolating it has becomean urgent necessity. Its meddling, especially in the Palestinian cause, must be stopped. If thereremains any shred of dignity among Arab states, they must no longer tolerate the UAE’sreckless actions. The path it has chosen in alignment with Israel contradicts all logic, morality, and ethics. It must be held accountable and left to face the consequences of itsactions. The Arab world does not need the UAE, particularly when non-Arab nations havetaken honourable stances. These countries should be engaged in joint efforts to counterimminent threats.
The Arab—and indeed, global—political order is at its weakest as Trump resumes power. His foreign policy is dictated by brute force and transactional deals, offering no guarantees of continued U.S. protection. Ukraine was abandoned overnight. The European Union facesexistential threats. Trump views Canada as his next subordinate state. Given his track recordof betraying close allies, should the UAE and others not expect to be discarded at anymoment?
Arab leaders must reassess their strategies, prioritizing the interests of their people instead of blindly serving U.S. and Israeli agendas. Decades of bloodshed, plunder, and destruction mustend. It is time to break free from America’s grip and forge independent alliances built on mutual respect and clear principles that uphold the rights and sovereignty of nations.
The emergency Arab summit, initially scheduled for February 27 but postponed to March 4 in response to Trump’s proposal, followed a Gulf Cooperation Council leaders’ meeting attendedby Egypt and Jordan, which concluded without any official statement. However, instead of being delayed, the summit should have been convened immediately after the announcementof the fragile ceasefire agreement. The focus should have been on reinforcing the ceasefireand implementing concrete measures to provide humanitarian relief and reconstruction forGaza, rather than reacting to a proposal that was dead on arrival.
It would be a grave mistake for the summit to be held solely to address Trump’s plan—such a reaction is futile, as the plan has already been discarded into the dustbin of history. Thosepreparing to attend this summit must recognize that Trump’s proposal was nothing more thana tactical manoeuvre aimed at pressuring them into confronting the Palestinian people andforcing them to intervene militarily to dismantle Palestinian factions in Gaza. The focus, therefore, must shift away from this political distraction. Instead, the summit should prioritizesolidifying the ceasefire, securing humanitarian aid for Gaza’s population, initiatingreconstruction efforts, and taking decisive steps to halt the creeping genocide in the West Bank.
There is now undeniable evidence that Netanyahu and his far-right government are constantlyseeking opportunities for expansion and aggression. Their pursuit of normalization is merely a tool to realize their messianic territorial ambitions. If there is any positive outcome fromTrump’s plan, it is that it has exposed Netanyahu’s true intentions. He eagerly embraced theproposal and, with brazen audacity, even suggested establishing a Palestinian state in SaudiArabia. Saudi Arabia was next in line for normalization, and both sides had made significantprogress in secret and public meetings to achieve this goal—coming dangerously close tofinalising it.
For this reason, the Arab summit must rise to the level of the challenges and critical juncturesahead. Netanyahu and his government are already preparing to resume their aggression. Theirblatant disregard for the first phase of the ceasefire agreement is evident, and they continue toimpose impossible conditions for the second phase, signalling their intent to perpetuate theviolence. This requires firm and decisive resistance—even if it necessitates militaryintervention. It would be a disgrace for Arab leaders to once again stand by idly as Netanyahuresumes the genocide he initiated 16 months ago.
