The New York Times stated that Emirati-Israeli normalization has provided a significant service to the entity and served as a lifeline on all levels. Abu Dhabi supported the Netanyahu government by establishing land and sea routes to deliver goods to the entity after the Houthis targeted ships heading to the entity.
The newspaper reported, analysed by “Sunna Files Website” that just a few years ago, many UAE citizens were willing to talk enthusiastically about their country’s nascent relations with Israel, as Israel established relations with the UAE through a deal brokered by the United States.
Business groups emerged to direct investment across countries. Two women, one Emirati and one Israeli, stood together to take a picture with intertwined hands atop a skyscraper in Dubai, a gesture that U.S., Emirati, and Israeli officials alike believed signaled their deal, named the Abraham Accords, would spread peace throughout the Middle East.
But now, as Israel’s months-long bombardment of Gaza ignites anger across the region, it’s increasingly difficult to find Emirati supporters of the deal.
In this context, an Emirati businessman, a supporter of documenting economic relations between the two countries, said he left an Emirati-Israeli business council and had nothing else to say.
Some Emiratis, despite their frustration with the agreements, fear speaking out publicly, citing their government’s history of authoritarian crackdowns on critics.
However, one public figure who spoke out, Dubai’s deputy police chief, said online that Arabs “truly want peace” and that Israel “has proven its intentions are evil.”
Analysts say it’s unlikely the UAE or Israel will back away from the deal, as the UAE still represents a diplomatic artery to Israel while its relationships with other Arab countries fade, and the UAE has brought billions in trade and positive PR in Western countries.
Mohamed Baharoon, head of a research centre in Dubai, said the current path of war bodes ill for agreements or Middle Eastern security. He said, “This is a partnership, and if one partner doesn’t pay their dues, it’s no longer a partnership.”
Meanwhile, health officials in Gaza say anger towards Israel and its main ally, the United States, has sharply risen in the Arab world due to Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza, which killed over 30,000 Palestinians, left two million facing mass displacement, famine, and a collapse of the medical system.
For a handful of Arab leaders maintaining ties with Israel, the war prompted a rethink of that relationship, as Jordan recalled its ambassador in November, and Egyptian officials warned that any action sending Gaza’s residents to Egypt could jeopardize a decades-old treaty. Meanwhile, Israeli ambassadors to Bahrain, Morocco, and Egypt have largely stayed in Israel since the war began on October 7.
Despite pressure, Emirati officials say they don’t intend to sever relations, according to an official statement, but instead, the UAE government has highlighted how Emirati officials are using their relationship with Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza’s residents, as well as medical treatment for those injured in Gaza who have been transferred to the UAE.
The government said, “The UAE believes that diplomatic and political communications are important in difficult times like those we are witnessing.”
In late February, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat became the first Israeli minister to visit the UAE since October 7, attending a World Trade Organization gathering. In an interview, he said he was “extremely optimistic” after meeting with Emirati officials.
He said, “There is little sensitivity while the war continues,” but the two countries “have shared interests, and the Abraham Accords are extremely strategic for all of us. Nevertheless, even if the agreements were not on the line, what the relationship will look like is far from certain, as many Israelis and Emiratis have said.”
The Emirates has been (and still is) the preferred destination for Israelis to live or visit, as many Zionist leaders have considered it a “safe haven” for them. Moreover, the Emirates have increased their support for Israel by opening air and land corridors to supply the Zionist entity with everything it needs, given the blockade imposed by the Houthis from the sea and the prevailing ground and air threats in the Zionist occupation entity.
Nua Gastavronde, the Israeli co-founder of a tech hub connecting Emirati and Israeli entrepreneurs and investors, said the romantic stage of the Abraham Accords has faded. Now, she said, “We’ve entered a realistic stage of understanding that it won’t be easy.”
The agreements, announced in 2020, were particularly coveted by Israel as a major step toward further integration into the Middle East, as Arab states had long isolated Israel due to its treatment of Palestinians and its control of Gaza and the West Bank.
Over the next few years, hundreds of thousands of Israeli tourists flowed into the UAE, and in 2022, the country reported $2.5 billion in trade with Israel. Several Israeli restaurants opened in Dubai; one even called itself Cafe Bibi, after Netanyahu.
But soon, a rift appeared among disappointed Emiratis, who watched Jewish settlements expand in the West Bank, and Israel formed its most right-wing government in history.
Multiple plans by Netanyahu to visit the UAE never materialized. Agreements were not expanded to include countries like Oman or Qatar. And while Saudi officials followed talks with U.S. officials about possible recognition of Israel, they’re uninterested in joining the agreements – and demand heavy concessions.
