The United Arab Emirates warned Israel on Wednesday that any annexation of the West Bank would be a red line for Abu Dhabi, threatening to undermine the Abraham Accords that normalised ties between the two states.
Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs and Envoy of the UAE Foreign Minister, said the accords were signed with the understanding they would support the Palestinians’ path to statehood.
“From the very beginning, we viewed the Accords as a way to enable our continued support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspiration for an independent state,” Nusseibeh told Reuters.
“That was our position in 2020, and it remains our position today.”
The remarks are the sharpest criticism from Abu Dhabi since Israel’s war in Gaza erupted in 2023. They follow an announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that construction would begin on a settlement project cutting across the West Bank, a step his office described as one that would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Israel’s new settlement plan ‘undermines the two‑state solution while being a breach of international law’.
Foreign ministers from the EU, UK, Australia, Canada, and others condemned the plan, saying it violates international law and threatened regional stability.
Palestinian officials and rights groups have denounced the project as illegal under international law, arguing that it fragments territory and leaves no room for peace.
Nusseibeh urged Israel to halt the plans, saying “Extremists, of any kind, cannot be allowed to dictate the region’s trajectory. Peace requires courage, persistence, and a refusal to let violence define our choices.”
The Abraham Accords, brokered during Donald Trump’s first term as U.S. president, brought the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco into formal diplomatic relations with Israel.
Trump had sought to add Saudi Arabia to the framework, but the devastation in Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian crisis have shifted attention away from those ambitions.
Israel’s prime minister’s office has yet to respond to a request for comment on the UAE’s remarks.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed regret on Thursday over the decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from 31 entities linked to the United Nations.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the broader geopolitical tensions surrounding territorial disputes and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have drawn significant international attention.
A significant number of members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), affiliated with the PKK/YPG, have reportedly defected in Aleppo as Syrian security forces prepare to deploy in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods, Aleppo Governor Azzam Gharib said on Thursday.
Tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in Tehran and across at least 28 cities in a wave of anti-government demonstrations, now entering their twelfth day.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) sources reported a significant movement of U.S. military aircraft towards the Middle East in recent hours. Dozens of U.S. Air Force aerial refuelling tankers and heavy transport aircraft were observed heading eastwards, presumably to staging points in the region.
Snow and ice stalled travellers in northwest Europe on Wednesday, forcing around a thousand to spend the night in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport but delighting others who set out to explore a snow-blanketed Paris on sledges and skis.
Diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing escalated as Japan slams China's export ban on dual-use goods. Markets have wobbled as fears grow over a potential rare earth embargo affecting global supply chains.
Two people have been killed after a private helicopter crashed at a recreation centre in Russia’s Perm region, Russian authorities and local media have said.
Iran’s chief justice has warned protesters there will be “no leniency for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic”, as rights groups reported a rising death toll during what observers describe as the country’s biggest wave of unrest in three years.
Türkiye’s UN envoy called on the international community on Thursday to maintain strong support for the elimination of Syria’s remaining chemical weapons, stressing that the task is both a legal obligation and a critical priority for regional security and humanitarian protection.
Georgia has said it will clarify the circumstances surrounding the U.S. seizure of a Russian‑flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic and is seeking information on its Georgian crew members.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said it may deploy additional federal agents to Minnesota following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed regret on Thursday over the decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from 31 entities linked to the United Nations.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the broader geopolitical tensions surrounding territorial disputes and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have drawn significant international attention.
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