The Hidden Hand: UAE’s Involvement in Israel’s Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh
Informed diplomatic sources have disclosed that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement, was conducted at the request of the Emirates, aligned with Abu Dhabi’s plan for managing the “day after” the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
According to sources who spoke to Emirates Leaks, Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan initiated the request to senior Israeli officials, urging the killing of Haniyeh and the elimination of all Hamas political leaders before Abu Dhabi assumed a role in Gaza’s administration.
The sources further explained that the UAE, which announced its full involvement in Israeli plans for post-war Gaza management weeks ago, stipulated that Israel should prioritize the elimination of Hamas leaders to ensure the success of its Gaza strategy.
According to these sources, the UAE, through multiple official channels, requested that the Israeli government focus on targeting Hamas leaders abroad, particularly Haniyeh, due to Israel’s inability to reach the movement’s leaders within the Gaza Strip.
The plan was formally presented to the UAE in a secret meeting held in Abu Dhabi on July 18, which was later reported by American media, as per the same sources.
The aforementioned meeting included the Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, appointed by his brother Mohammed bin Zayed, and the American official Brett McGurk, President Biden’s Middle East Affairs Advisor, the US State Department Advisor Tom Sullivan, and the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who is close to the Prime Minister. Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu.
During the meeting, Abdullah bin Zayed presented the entire broad outlines of the UAE’s plan regarding the management of Gaza, which includes the deployment of multinational forces with Emirati and Arab participation in the Strip to devote the elimination of any form of Hamas rule and the Palestinian resistance.
The plan includes imposing Mohammed Dahlan, advisor to Mohammed bin Zayed, to supervise the mechanism for governing Gaza in the next stage, in full coordination with Israel, with Abu Dhabi funding the humanitarian response plans to ensure the implementation of its strategy.
The UAE has notably insisted that to continue implementing its plan and relieve Tel Aviv of the burdens of ruling Gaza post-war, Israel must eliminate senior Hamas leaders.
This condition aims to clear the stage for the involvement of Mohammed Dahlan and Abu Dhabi’s mercenaries.
An Emirati official explicitly stated to the Financial Times, a day after the tripartite meeting in Abu Dhabi, that the UAE would be prepared to join this international force and deploy its troops on the ground.
This announcement of the UAE’s position followed promptly after Israel agreed to the UAE’s request regarding the assassination of senior Hamas leaders, and the necessary coordination for this operation began.
This was confirmed by the American website Axios, which recently reported that Emirati officials wish to be part of the solution in Gaza, provided it excludes Hamas. However, they have strong reservations about the current leadership of the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed a desire for the Emiratis to participate in the post-war plan for Gaza. He envisions the UAE sending troops, financing reconstruction efforts, and reforming the education system to “de-radicalize” the population.
It is noteworthy that the UAE refrained from condemning Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran two days ago. Instead, they issued a statement expressing concern about the “continued escalation and its repercussions on the security and stability of the region,” without specifically mentioning the leader of the Hamas political bureau.
The UAE, which has maintained a strategic alliance with Israel for decades and officially normalized relations in 2020, designates the Hamas movement and its leaders as terrorists. The UAE views all Palestinian resistance factions with complete hostility.
