The United Arab Emirates has warned that any move by Israel to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would cross a “red line” and jeopardize regional integration efforts under the Abraham Accords.
“Annexation in the West Bank would constitute a red line for the UAE,” said Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs at the UAE’s foreign ministry, in a statement.
“It would severely undermine the vision and spirit of the accords, end the pursuit of regional integration, and alter the widely-shared consensus on the trajectory of this conflict – two states living side by side in peace, prosperity, and security.”
The warning, issued days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the accords, marks Abu Dhabi’s strongest rebuke yet of Israeli policy since normalizing ties in 2020.
The UAE, the first Arab state in more than two decades to establish relations with Israel, has since built trade, defense, and tourism partnerships with Tel Aviv.
Despite maintaining ties throughout the Gaza war and coordinating aid deliveries into the enclave, the UAE reiterated that normalization was always tied to supporting Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
