Five reasons the unprecedented UAE warning matters

The article by the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the US is an unprecedented warning coming from a country that doesn’t have relations with Israel but where relations appeared to have unique potential.

The following are the Top 5 ramifications from this article.

1. It comes from the ambassador to the US

The article is from Yousef al Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the US. It was then tweeted, in Hebrew, by the director of strategic communications for the UAE, Hend al Otaiba. This is important because al Otaiba also attended the “deal of the century” announcement in the East Room of the White House in January. He also gave a statement in January that he appreciated US President Donald Trump’s efforts to reach a peace deal and that all concerned parties should reach a deal as part of a way forward.

Hend al Otaiba noted in her Hebrew tweet that the UAE and the Arab world have an opportunity today. However, annexation is a bad sign and could scupper the huge potential for better relations between the Arab world and Israel. Here it is clear that this message from the UAE, via its key Washington ambassador, is a stern one. Delivered in Hebrew and through a video statement, it’s much more than just a comment from Abu Dhabi or a warning.

The UAE had already made comments in May, so this follow-up is directed to ramp up the message and deliver it directly.

Overall, the comments in the oped or the video were not overly harsh. They appeared more like a warning from a colleague than from an adversary. They were tempered as well, without threats. This is important, because it leaves some room for maneuver within this context of annexation and discussions of “normalization.” They did not appear to draw a red line, but rather a warning in the kind of soft chiding terms the Gulf is used to. This means that annexation might not totally derail relations.

2. In ‘Yediot,’ not ‘Israel Hayom’

The message was delivered via Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s largest Hebrew daily, to have the maximum affect and to convince the mainstream. While we don’t know all the details behind how this article came to be, the choice of venue for something like this would likely be closely followed and studied.

Having an article in Hebrew was already a major leap because the ambassador could have chosen to publish in English via a US-based legacy newspaper. The article would have had the same message for Washington and would have been read in Jerusalem.

Going directly to the mainstream Israeli public was a

to the incident by saying that “The perpetrators are a small handful of people who do not represent most Jaffa residents and who have lost confidence in the municipality.

“We will continue to build a homeless shelter, with court approval, and will not stop because of the damage done to municipal or other public property. Keep in mind, the site of the homeless shelter has not been a cemetery for more than 100 years and served as a soccer field for the city’s Muslim football club.”

Responding to the unrest, the US Embassy issued a security alert on Saturday night, warning its citizens that protests in the coastal city may turn violent with episodes of “vandalism, rock throwing, burning of tires, vehicles, and fire bombs.”

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said that “the police were aware that this could happen and did not prepare.”

He added that police were preparing forces in the city with the goal of responding quickly to any future escalations.

The cemetery in question dates to the 18th century and was discovered in 2018 as the municipality began digging to construct the foundation of the planned Center for the Homeless. Previously, a building dating to the Ottoman period stood on the same grounds, Ynet reported.

While the local Muslim community is fighting to preserve the cemetery, which they claim is called El Asaf, a court decision from January ruled that in this case the project could continue.

The reasoning behind this ruling is that the Muslim community, with the approval of then-Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Amin al-Husseini, removed the bodies and turned the grounds into a soccer field 80 years ago.

Additionally, the city intends to construct columns to ensure that human remains will maintain their dignity. The developer also stated that any human remains are worked around by hand to ensure they remain intact.

Meanwhile, Muslim activists erected fake tombstones to emphasize that this is a Muslim site of heritage and memory, Haaretz reported on Friday. Public Muslim prayers were held on the site as well. •