UAE: Annexation could destroy Israeli normalization with Arab world
United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the US Yousef al Otaiba published piece in ‘Yediot Aharonot’
Israeli annexation of portions of the West Bank could destroy its normalization efforts with the Arab world, the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the US Yousef al Otaiba warned on Friday, in an unusual appeal to the Israeli public.
In an effort to directly reach out to Israelis, he published an opinion piece in the largest Hebrew daily, Yediot Aharonot. Otaiba followed that with a video message in the English language news service The National.
“We wanted to speak directly to the Israelis. The message was all the progress that you have seen, and the attitudes that have been changing toward Israel, people becoming more accepting of Israel, and less hostile to Israel, all of that could be undermined by a decision to annex,” Otaiba said.
“All the progress that you have seen, and exchanges and openings, could be undermined, by one simple step,” he continued. “I wanted to make sure people understood, how we saw this possibility and the risks associated with it. There is opportunity for sure, that has potential in the coming years, as attitudes shift toward Israel. But this could be a setback for all of those things, and especially for Israelis who are so keen on opening relationships with new Arab countries, that they don’t currently have relationships with.”
Otaiba added that “I wanted to make sure people understood the risks associated with this decision, beyond the immediate consequences of what happens on the Israeli-Palestinian track.
“I think these decisions tend to be made in a very limited domestic political lens,” said Otaiba, as he explained that steps taken for internal domestic reasons could have a significant regional impact.
“Sometimes we don’t think of the secondary or tertiary consequences of how other countries or certain platforms will react, what could happen in a street or a country far away from Israel,” Al Otaiba said. “I wanted to make sure that was part of the conversation and I wanted to make sure that was part of the conversation with the Israeli public.”
In his article in Yediot Aharonot, he spoke in specific about the impact on neighboring Jordan.
Annexation, he warned, “will spark violence and arouse extremism. It will send tidal waves across the region. It will primarily affect Jordan, the same Jordan whose stability – which is sometimes taken for granted – benefits the entire region and Israel in particular.”
It would also harm the ability of the UAE to form a “closer and more effective security cooperation” with Israel, given that Israel and the UAE have two of the region’s most capable militaries with good ties to the US, he wrote.
Otaiba discussed how the UAE has been a strong supporter of the peace process and has taken steps to oppose violence, such as condemning Hamas incitement and recognizing Hezbollah as a terror organization, alongside its condemnation violence.
Under the Obama administration, Otaiba recalled, the UAE had worked with the US officials on the idea of confidence building-measures that would benefit Israel, provide greater Palestinian autonomy and improves Israeli ties with the Arab world. In January, Otaiba said, he was one of three Arab ambassadors present in the White House’s east room when Trump unveiled his peace plan.
“Annexation will certainly and immediately upend Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and with the UAE,” Otaiba wrote. “Annexation will also harden Arab views of Israel just when Emirati initiatives have been opening the space for cultural exchange and broader understanding of Israel and Judaism.”
In the past year, the UAE has worked to strengthen ties with Israel and the Jewish global community, he wrote, adding that it invited Israel to participate in next year’s Dubai World Expo and that Israeli diplomats work in Abu Dhabi out of the UN headquarters for International Renewable Energy Agency. of
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unique choice. What’s important also is that while it was in Hebrew, it was not Haaretz, which means it was not seeking to appeal to the left, which is largely critical of Israel’s policies. It was also
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