Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank put the Abraham Accords in jeopardy, according to a top Emirati official.
In August, Israel’s finance minister said that work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, a move his office said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state, Reuters reported. The Palestinian government, its allies, and human rights activists condemned the proposal, calling it illegal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with his cabinet ministers this week to discuss advancing the plans.
The UAE voiced strong opposition in remarks today: “Annexation would be a red line for my government, and that means there can be no lasting peace. It would foreclose the idea of regional integration and be the death knell of the two-state solution,” Assistant Minister for Political Affairs and Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE Lana Nusseibeh told The Times of Israel in an interview.
Similar statements were made to other outlets, marking the UAE’s most substantial criticism of Israel since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.