In his second op-ed for an Israeli newspaper, the United Arab Emirates’s ambassador to the US said the new normalization agreement with Israel would allow for “direct” advocacy for the Palestinian cause, including the establishment of a sovereign state, now with “stronger” tools.
“As we have for fifty years, we will forcefully advocate for these ends,” Yousef Al-Otaiba wrote in the piece for Yedioth Ahronoth. “Now, we will do it directly, face to face and empowered with stronger incentives, policy options and diplomatic tools.
“The UAE will remain an ardent and consistent supporter of the Palestinian people — for their dignity, their rights and their own sovereign state. They must share in the benefits of normalization,” he wrote.
“We also closed the gate on annexation and created new dynamics in the peace process,” Al-Otaiba said.
We also closed the gate on annexation and created new dynamics in the peace process,” Al-Otaiba said.
In his first op-ed in June, months before the normalization deal was clinched, Al-Otaiba warned Jerusalem against its plan to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank, saying such a move would destroy any hopes for further rapprochement between the Jewish state and the Arab world.
Al-Otaiba was one of the three Arab ambassadors to attend the White House ceremony during which US President Donald Trump unveiled his peace plan for the Middle East.
Israel and the UAE announced an agreement last week to establish full normalized relations. The agreement makes the UAE the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have full, active diplomatic ties with Israel. READ MORE
