RAMALLAH, West Bank — Suha Arafat, the widow of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has become a part of the mounting crisis between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United Arab Emirates after Abu Dhabi reached an agreement to normalize ties with Israel. The deal resulted in the first official Israeli flight landing in the UAE on Aug. 31.

After the UAE announced Aug. 13 it was establishing full diplomatic relations with Israel, marchers denouncing the deal roamed the streets of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where photos of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, who resides in the UAE, were set on fire. 

On Aug. 21, Suha Arafat posted an apology to the UAE on Instagram, triggering a crisis with the PA. “On behalf of the honourables among the Palestinian people,” she apologized “for the burning and defamation of the UAE flag in Jerusalem and Palestine and insults of the UAE symbols.” Her remarks came although she has no official capacity neither at the PA nor Fatah movement.

Suha Arafat also attached a photo of her husband with UAE ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (both died in November 2004) to her Instagram post, adding that such practices do not reflect Palestinian morals, customs and traditions, and that “disagreements should not ruin amicability.” She called on the Palestinian “generations to read history well to learn how the UAE has always and continues to support the Palestinian people and cause.”