The Scoop
The UAE has shifted its focus to humanitarian aid as non-oil trade declines with Israel in the aftermath of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, a UAE official told Semafor.
Non-oil trade dropped 5.5% last year, from $2.3 billion at the end of 2023, and included investment commitments between the UAE and Israel in health care, food security, and space exploration, according to the spokesperson.
“The conflict in Gaza, and the associated disruption to Red Sea shipping routes, has affected these numbers,” the official said. “The UAE’s subsequent focus has been to secure a cessation of hostilities and provide humanitarian assistance to those in need. The current situation threatens to undermine both the vision and spirit of [the Abraham] Accords and our aspirations for long-term regional integration.”
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The statement indicating the UAE’s shifting priorities coincides with a week of diplomatic maneuvering by Gulf states, following Israel’s unprecedented strike in Doha on a Hamas compound that killed a Qatari security officer on Sept. 9 — and overlaps with the five-year anniversary of the Abraham Accords.
While UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed boarded a plane to Doha in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s targeted attack — the first head of state to do so — he did not join other Arab and Muslim leaders for an emergency summit held in Qatar’s capital on Monday, instead sending his brother Foreign Minister Sheikh Mansour on his behalf.
Bahrain, the other Gulf signatory of the Abraham Accords, also did not send its king.
The main statement coming out of the meeting rebuked Israel but stopped short of economic or political action against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The Trump administration’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, urged Doha to maintain its role as lead negotiator for a ceasefire, but warned the window for that possibility is closing as Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza City.
The UAE has leaned on its normalization agreement with Israel to become one of the top providers of humanitarian aid in Gaza, under the mission name “Gallant Knight.”
Since the conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, the UAE has delivered $1.5 billion in aid, including more than 80,000 tons of food, basic necessities, and medical supplies to Gaza, according to a July report. It opened a field hospital and treated injured Gazans in Abu Dhabi. Earlier this month the country began work on a desalination project to bring clean drinking water from Egypt into Gaza.
Room for Disagreement
Figures between the UAE and Israel differ by source and what goods and services are being counted. Trade reached $3.24 billion, up 11%, in 2024 (not including services like software, defense exports, natural gas, or water) according to the US conservative group Heritage Foundation, citing Israeli government figures.
Notable
- Israel’s strike on Doha puts US credibility on the line, Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal Abbas wrote in a column for Semafor.