As European criticism intensifies over Israel’s military operations in Gaza, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to deepen its strategic alliance with the Zionist entity, reaffirming its full commitment to the normalisation agreements initiated under the Abraham Accords in 2020.
According to a report by Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), authored by Robert Hofer, the UAE is now described as “Israel’s best Arab friend”, showing what the paper calls “unconditional loyalty”—even amid mounting European diplomatic pressure on Tel Aviv due to its war crimes in Gaza.
The report suggests that Abu Dhabi is positioning itself to play a central role in post-war Gaza, leveraging its close relationship with Israel to secure influence in the region’s reconstruction and political future.
Behind the Alliance: A Shared Hostility Toward Islamists
According to NZZ, Gulf rulers—especially the UAE—view Israeli strikes on Hamas positively, largely due to their opposition to Islamist movements and their focus on economic deals over political solidarity.
The Emirati regime’s antipathy toward Islamic political currents, particularly those aligned with popular resistance or grassroots Islamic governance, appears to be a major driver behind its deepening alliance with Israel.
This has led observers to argue that the UAE’s alignment with Tel Aviv is not merely economic—but ideological, rooted in a broader regional campaign to crush political Islam, regardless of the human cost in Palestine.
Trade Surges Despite War Crimes
Since signing the Abraham Accords, UAE-Israel ties have flourished. Non-oil trade volume between the two countries has exceeded $6 billion since 2020, with projections suggesting this figure could hit $10 billion by 2030.
Emirati sovereign wealth funds have invested heavily in strategic sectors inside Israel, including the purchase of a 22% stake in the Tamar gas field, worth $1.1 billion.
This growing economic bond underscores how Abu Dhabi is willing to look past Israeli atrocities in Gaza, prioritising business over the blood of Palestinians.
Security and Surveillance Cooperation
Militarily, the UAE has expanded security and defence cooperation with Israel, including joint projects in artificial intelligence, surveillance, and the development of integrated air defence systems.
Following Houthi attacks on Abu Dhabi in 2022, Israel provided the UAE with advanced air defence systems, further cementing their security partnership.
These developments reflect the UAE’s willingness to depend on an occupying regime accused of genocide, while simultaneously distancing itself from resistance movements like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—all of which it brands as “destabilising forces.”
Post-War Gaza: A Platform for Emirati Influence?
Analysts suggest the UAE aims to play a central role in shaping post-war Gaza, leveraging its diplomatic ties with Israel and financial clout to act as a broker in reconstruction and stability efforts.
Abu Dhabi appears eager to present itself as a regional powerbroker, using Gaza’s destruction as an opportunity to expand its geopolitical influence, despite the Palestinian people’s overwhelming rejection of normalisation.
This strategy not only sidelines traditional Palestinian leadership, but also risks enabling a neo-colonial framework, where Gulf-Israeli coordination dictates the future of a land stained with the blood of martyrs.
A Final Word
While the UAE promotes itself as a force for stability, its intimate partnership with an apartheid regime, and its silence over genocide, raise serious moral and political questions. This alliance, born not from shared values but from shared enemies, casts a long shadow over the Arab world’s supposed solidarity with Palestine.
As Gaza bleeds, the UAE builds—not bridges with its people, but bonds with their occupiers.
