United Arab Emirate officials reportedly warned the United States on Wednesday against Jerusalem applying Israeli sovereignty over parts of the Judea and Samaria regions.
“This would destroy the Abraham Accords,” Emirati officials reportedly warned.
“Do not allow Israel to annex parts of the West Bank.”
The warning is reported to have come following a tweet by Anwar Gargash, advisor to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, saying “In these challenging times, the UAE sends a clear message: annexation is a red line, and peace through a two-state solution must remain the path forward.”
Senior UAE officials have reportedly also told Washington in closed-door meetings that “the application of sovereignty would lead to a significant shift in the direction of relations between the two countries.”
The fact that the UAE ran to Washington instead of speaking directly to Jerusalem shows that the Emirates view Israel as a vassal of the United States rather than as an independent player on the international stage.
This already reveals an unhealthy dynamic and is likely rooted in a broader Arab unwillingness to accept the reality of Israel’s new status as the regional hegemon in West Asia.
Beyond this, it’s important for the people of Israel to make clear to ourselves and to the world that possessing the territories that constitute the cradle of Hebrew civilization is more important than a diplomatic relationship with the Emirates or with any one else.
This is especially true if the relationship is unhealthy – which it clearly is if it depends on Israel compromising on a Jewish national interest as central to our identity as our homeland.
Any “peace” conditioned on separating Israel from the heart of our country isn’t peace. We can’t have a good relationship with another nation on condition that we refrain from pursuing our real interests or the aspirations of our people stretching back thousands of years.
If an Arab nation were to condition normalization with Israel on greater humanitarian aid for Gazans or improving conditions for Palestinians more broadly, this would be worth considering. But conditioning normalization on Israel not taking possession of our heartland is grounds for ending the accords and severing diplomatic ties.
There are those who make the claim that the Abraham Accords were initially signed between Israel and the UAE on condition that Israel would forgo applying sovereignty to the West Bank in exchange for normalization with the Emirates.
If this is the case and the Abraham Accords are structured to function as a means of preventing Israel from possessing the most important parts of our country, Jerusalem should immediately pull out of the accords.
Whether or not the Emirates care to admit it publicly, Israel is the strongest regional party signed onto the accords. If we act like it and give our neighbors no choice but to acknowledge and accept this reality, chances are high that they would beg us to stay and cease making such insulting demands through third parties.
