Emirates Officials Support Israel and Condemn Palestinian Resistance

The UAE’s policy towards Israel is both consistent and resolute. The country’s leaders, known as the “sons of Zayed,” have long been committed to supporting Israel and its efforts to suppress Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups. Their enthusiasm for this mission is even greater than Israel’s own.

According to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, the UAE is openly investing in Israeli activities, with two notable developments occurring this week.

First, the UAE announced the establishment of a branch of the Israeli company Rafael in Abu Dhabi, aimed at converting Emirates Airlines planes into cargo aircraft. Second, the UAE intervened to rescue financially troubled Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi by investing $1 billion in his Sotheby’s auction house, following Qatar’s refusal to support him due to the ongoing violence in Gaza.

It is worth noting that Darahi owns the Israeli channel “HOT” and the “i24” news network, which strongly defends the Israeli massacres in Gaza.

Hardly a week passes since the signing of the “Abraham Accords” in September 2020, without entering into a new investment in or with Israel, although announcements of figures reflecting the growth of trade relations between the two sides declined during the war.

The most recent development was announced by Israel’s ambassador to the UAE, Amir Hayek, who revealed that trade between Israel and the UAE reached $1.29 billion in the first five months of 2023, excluding software trade details.

Meanwhile, the Emirati “Gallant Knight” operation, which has seen three versions produced so far, falls short of its noble namesake. True chivalry and gallantry would involve boycotting the aggressor responsible for brutalizing Palestinians, rather than making direct investments in its machinery of oppression.

The aid given by the Gulf state to Palestinians in Gaza pales in comparison to the support funneled to Israel through Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This corridor allows Israel to receive essential supplies from Emirati ports, particularly after the “Ansar Allah” movement managed to impose a blockade on the Israeli port of Eilat in the Red Sea.

There’s speculation that this limited aid might be part of a broader soft war strategy, running parallel to Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. This strategy could potentially serve the interests of the “Eyal Zayed” regime in Gaza after the conflict.

Given this situation, Abu Dhabi could set up a field hospital in Gaza that remains untouched by the bombings, while all Palestinian hospitals in the region are being destroyed.

The UAE could establish bakeries in Gaza that remain untouched by bombings, while the enemy destroys every other bakery. Similarly, the UAE could evacuate a thousand wounded from Gaza and treat them in its own hospitals, while others who are unable to leave face death.

The UAE is positioned at the forefront of plans for managing Gaza after the conflict.

The UAE played a key role in facilitating aid through Cyprus, although this was halted once the Israelis observed that Palestinians in Gaza were beginning to receive substantial aid for the first time since the war began.

In all the proposed plans by Americans and Israelis for post-war Gaza management, the UAE consistently appears at the top of the list, dutifully fulfilling its role as the “Gallant knight.”

In all of this, the UAE is currently providing a modest amount of support, which may increase over time, aiming to offer an alternative to Hamas’s control of Gaza. This includes current aid distribution and potentially future management of the region. Notably, Abu Dhabi has a key asset for this task in Mohammed Dahlan and his group, who could play a significant role in these efforts.

There are additional domestic objectives for the UAE, as this aid might be perceived by many ordinary Emiratis as a humanitarian gesture carried out in their name for the benefit of Palestinians. This is particularly significant given that the Israeli actions in Gaza have generated growing resentment among Emiratis due to their country’s relationship with Israel.

Thus, and because Israel’s real goal is to exterminate the Palestinians in Gaza, or displace them from it, the role of the Emirati “Gallant knight” becomes feeding the sacrifice before it is taken to slaughter.

What the UAE can do for Israel, no one else can, and the failure of the US sea bridge is a clear example of that.

The newspaper concluded that the UAE, as an Arab-speaking country, has the ability to communicate with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and exert influence. It can serve as a crucial channel through which aid can reach them, providing much-needed sustenance amidst the hunger.

But so far, the Emirati role has not reached the point of directly provoking the resistance, which is concerned with the arrival of a small amount of aid to the Palestinians, even through the devil.