UAE and Israel Join Forces to Distort Palestinian Resistance, Spark Tensions

Leaked documents have unveiled some of the covert details behind the systematic cooperation between the UAE and Israel to undermine the Palestinian resistance and fuel incitement against it. This campaign is being driven through media platforms jointly operated by teams in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

The documents reveal that the Emirati government has funneled tens of millions of dollars to content creators and influencers to craft media narratives that distort the image of the resistance, vilify its leadership, downplay its achievements, and blame it for the devastation and casualties in Gaza caused by Israeli actions.

According to the documents, the role of these producers and influencers on the Emirati-Israeli media platforms is to shape Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic public opinion against the resistance, while also promoting the normalization of relations with Israel.

At the forefront of the aforementioned Emirati-Israeli platforms is the “blinx” platform, a digital media project launched last September based in Dubai, and promoted by Emirati arms as the first “media hub” of its kind in the Middle East.

The aforementioned platform launched its own platform called “blinx news” to work on supporting content that achieves the common Emirati-Israeli goals with a news character that receives huge spending from Abu Dhabi.

The UAE authorities have equipped the (blinx) platform with the latest studios and production technologies in extended reality to simulate the Metaverse, and the control rooms have been equipped with the latest live production tools, including those enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze videos and data and enrich content.

When analyzing the content of the aforementioned platform, it is clear that it relies on everything that would incite the Palestinian resistance and harm the Palestinian cause and its future, in exchange for promoting the Israeli army and whitewashing its crimes against Palestinian civilians.

Among these efforts is the release of a misleading video by the “blinx news” platform, featuring a former Israeli prisoner held by resistance factions in Gaza. The video was distorted and taken out of context, falsely suggesting that the prisoner was forced into marriage during Israel’s war of extermination on Gaza.

At the same time, Emirati digital operatives, known as “electronic flies,” have been active for several months. They have created dozens of fake social media accounts to comment on and influence the discourse around the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Following the tweets of the Emirati electronic flies reveals their consensus on three main goals: demonizing the Palestinian resistance and supporting Israel, in addition to promoting Abu Dhabi’s alleged humanitarian role in Gaza.

The Emirati electronic flies have intensified their campaigns of incitement against the Palestinian factions and resistance by impersonating fake Palestinian names in order to sow the seeds of discord and incite local public opinion in Gaza against the resistance.

The suspicious Emirati activity is based on incitement against the resistance by holding it responsible for the destruction of Gaza and that it is only in the service of senior officials, in addition to accusing it of stealing humanitarian aid.

In contrast, the tweets of the Emirati electronic flies belittle the operations of the Palestinian resistance and its steadfastness in the face of the massacres and the Israeli bombing and destruction machine.

In addition to supporting Israel and its military in its daily massacres against Gaza’s residents, the activities of the Emirati “electronic flies” heavily focus on promoting UAE aid and attempting to whitewash the regime’s image, tainted by its normalization with Israel.

For months, the UAE has leveraged its media and political platforms to vilify the Palestinian resistance, even as domestic criticism mounts over Abu Dhabi’s continued support for normalization with Israel.

Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, the Chairman of the Defense, Interior, and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federal National Council and a key architect of UAE-Israel normalization, launched a scathing attack on the Palestinian resistance, particularly Hamas, claiming that “Israel is here to stay.”

Al-Naimi participated in a special online press conference organized by the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and made controversial statements against the Palestinian resistance.

Al-Naimi said that the normalization agreements are not in danger amid Israel’s bloody war on the Gaza Strip, claiming that “the (normalization) agreements are our future. They are not an agreement between two governments, but a platform that we believe should change the region.”

He added that he wants everyone “to recognize and accept that Israel is here to stay and that the roots of Jews and Christians are not in New York or Paris but here in our region.” He claimed that “they are part of our history and they should be part of our future.”

Al-Naimi, who is close to decision-making circles in Abu Dhabi, claimed that the UAE wants to change the education system and religious narrative.

This is not the first time that Al-Naimi has spoken about changing the education system in line with normalization with the Israeli occupation; in January 2021, four months after the normalization agreement was signed, he proposed changing the curriculum to end what he called “Islamic extremism.”

He said at the time that “education represents the first line of defense against any threat, in a region that still suffers from extremist ideology.”

Commenting on the protests against Israel’s war on Gaza, Ali Rashid Al-Naimi stated, “We need those who believe in peace in Europe, the United States, and everywhere to confront the hate speech that we see in the demonstrations in Paris and London.”

Regarding Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa, launched by the Palestinian resistance on October 7, Al-Naimi remarked, “It is very important to understand that there are enemies to what we are doing. These terrorist organizations do not respect human life and prevent the achievement of their objectives.”

Al-Naimi further stated, “No one with humane feelings or common sense would support the barbaric terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7—no one.” He claimed that the “enemies” had taken advantage of the war and emphasized a distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people.

Al-Naimi is one of Abu Dhabi’s key figures in promoting attacks on Islam and inciting against Muslims in Europe. He heads the “Hedayah” Center for Combating Extremism, which is led by several European extremists advocating for the expulsion of Muslims from Europe.

In September 2020, the UAE became the first Arab country to sign a public normalization agreement with Israel, which has since been followed by numerous cooperation agreements across various sectors, including a Comprehensive Trade Agreement with Tel Aviv.

Despite mounting Israeli crimes in Gaza, Abu Dhabi has not taken any diplomatic action beyond issuing statements of condemnation. It has disregarded repeated Arab and Islamic calls to cut ties with Israel.