UAE Foreign Minister calls for immediate end to Gaza war during meeting with Netanyahu
The meeting marked Netanyahu’s first discussion with a senior Arab official since Israel’s September 9 strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
The United Arab Emirates has called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed pressing the message during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to a report by Reuters.
The meeting marked Netanyahu’s first discussion with a senior Arab official since Israel’s September 9 strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
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Sheikh Abdullah also reiterated the United Arab Emirates’ “unwavering commitment to supporting all initiatives aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, in a way that fulfils the aspirations of both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples,” according to WAM, the UAE’s state news agency, as reported by Reuters.
The report made no mention of the Abraham Accords, which have been strained by Israeli policies in the region.
Abraham Accords are series of agreements to normalise relations between Israel and several Arab states. The name of the accords was given in reference to the supposed common ancestor of the Jews and the Arabs, the biblical Abraham, and as an expression of brotherhood. The accords, all of which were signed in the latter half of 2020, consist of a general declaration alongside bilateral agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.
Earlier this month, the UAE warned Israel that annexation in the occupied West Bank would constitute a "red line" for Abu Dhabi that would severely undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords that normalised UAE-Israeli relations.
According to Reuters, sources said Abu Dhabi could downgrade diplomatic ties with Israel if annexation proceeds.
The warning comes as several Western nations, including France, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Portugal, recognised a Palestinian state last Sunday, a move aimed at promoting a two-state solution amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Israel sharply condemned the recognition, with Netanyahu denouncing Western countries for embracing Palestinian statehood.
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