Netanyahu quietly sends top aide to UAE in an effort to mend ties

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a top foreign policy official to the United Arab Emirates  to fix strained relations amid the ongoing war on Gaza and plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank.

According to reports, Israel’s strategic affairs minister, Rob Dermer, was quietly sent to the UAE last week and engaged in talks with Emirati officials.

Dermer met with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, just days after Israel issued security alerts about potential attacks against Jewish and Israeli sites in the UAE.

The visit was not publicised by either the UAE or Israel; however, sources said the visit was primarily focused on informing the UAE leadership on Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza City.

The UAE was one of many states that have publicly condemned Israel for violating international laws by escalating the bombardment and displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as well as planning to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Abu Dhabi, earlier this month, raised concerns that Israel’s decision to occupy Gaza would "lead to catastrophic consequences".

Despite normalising relations in 2020, tensions between Israel and the UAE have grown since the start of the war on Gaza.

The UAE has previously said that it is stalling proposed investments in Israel due to the assault on Gaza.

Abu Dhabi has further paused its plans to move forward with economic and political ties with Tel Aviv, and has instead distanced itself from Israel.

According to Bloomberg, three people with knowledge of Emirati leaders’ thinking said that the UAE president has refused to meet with Netanyahu.

They further confirmed that Abu Dhabi has more recently hardened its stance and rhetoric towards Israel, amid international condemnation aimed at Netanyahu’s government over war crimes.

The UAE joined with several other states in lambasting Israel last week, over Netanyahu’s support of creating a "Greater Israel" by annexing Palestinian land, as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Abu Dhabi’s foreign ministry issued a statement condemning "incendiary statements and actions by extremists within the Israeli government” and saying that expanding settlements in the West Bank "threaten regional stability and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence."

This comes after Israel approved plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, which would cut off the north of the West Bank from its south.

Extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has boasted that this would make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible.

The plans have garnered international condemnation, with countries issuing sharp statements decrying it as a violation of international law.

"It is a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies," a spokesperson for the UN said.