UAE says Israel’s West Bank annexation push a ‘red line': What to know
There are growing indications that the Israeli government is seeking to annex the Palestinian territory, but the UAE is becoming increasingly critical of the plan.
An Emirati diplomat warned on Tuesday that Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank would be a “red line” for the Gulf state, the strongest sign yet that the Abraham Accords member is opposed to the move, though stopped short of explicitly saying that it would cut ties with the Jewish state.
The growing momentum toward annexing most of the Palestinian territory, which includes a plan proposed by a cabinet minister on Wednesday, could harm Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates and other Arab states.
Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s assistant minister for political affairs and envoy of the minister of foreign affairs, told The Times of Israel that annexation would “foreclose the idea” of integration in the Middle East and kill the two-state solution.
"Annexation would be a red line for my government, and that means there can be no lasting peace," she told the outlet. "It would foreclose the idea of regional integration and be the death knell of the two-state solution."
