Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan made statements on state media on Sunday. During his remarks, he said that the UAE is ready to facilitate peace attempts between Israel and the Palestinians.
According to the state news agency, Sheikh Mohammed said that “the UAE is ready to work with all parties to maintain the ceasefire and explore new paths to reduce escalation and achieve peace.” The Crown Prince delivered his country’s wish to take a role in peace efforts to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi through a phone call, as well. It was seen that Egypt assumed an active role to ensure the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestine.
However, Sheikh Mohammed also highlighted the need for additional efforts that Israeli and Palestinian leaders would be involved in.
Last year, the UAE signed the US-brokered “Abraham Accords” with Israel to establish diplomatic ties and normalize relations. The move was followed by Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. The normalization agreements were heavily criticized by the Palestinians on the grounds that the “Abraham Accords” would undermine the unified Arab position against the Israeli occupation.
On the other hand, the UAE administration tried to justify the agreement saying that the agreements would contribute to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by establishing formal diplomatic channels.
During the 11-day Israeli bombardment, which killed 232 Palestinians, including over sixty children, it was seen that the UAE expressed its reaction at a lower tone. This was evaluated in a way that the UAE refrained from offending its Israeli partners.
