UAE Rejects Involvement in Israeli Political Storm Following Media Report
The United Arab Emirates expressed frustration after being linked to an Israeli media report, seeking to stay out of internal political disputes. Emirati and Israeli sources strongly dismissed the publication.
The United Arab Emirates has responded for the first time to a report published Wednesday morning in the Haaretz newspaper, as reported by Achikam Heimlrb. Officials in the Gulf state are seeking to distance Abu Dhabi from the political storm that has erupted in Israel. A senior Emirati official told Channel 14 that "it is impossible to fend off the wave of rumors in the Israeli media."
According to the senior official, the UAE is expressing frustration that its name is repeatedly linked to internal Israeli political events, forcing the country to issue denials. The clear message emanating from Abu Dhabi is a request not to drag the UAE into internal political disputes within Israel.
Sources close to the Prime Minister also dismissed the incident described in the report, asserting that it never took place. According to these sources, a high-level diplomatic conversation of this magnitude cannot occur spontaneously and requires a series of preparations and prior coordination. Even if such an event had subsequently been erased from official records, traces of its existence would necessarily remain within the systems and various coordinations required for talks between leaders. Such an event cannot simply happen without prior preparation.
Defense establishment officials strongly rejected the report, defining it as "complete fake news." They stated that the origin of the story remains unclear and it is baffling how it made its way to publication. The Haaretz report relied on the testimony of a Palestinian from Gaza who emigrated to the UAE and claimed to have been present during a conversation involving UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed.
Sources familiar with protocol in the United Arab Emirates also cast doubt on this part of the testimony. They noted that access to high-level diplomatic discussions at the highest tier is extremely restricted, and individuals outside the immediate circles of the ruling royal family are generally not present at such talks. Therefore, the claim that a recent émigré from Gaza was present during a sensitive conversation involving the Prime Minister of Israel raises significant questions.
