After trip to UAE, Ra’am chair says Israel ‘missing historic opportunity’ for regional initiative to end conflict

Fresh off a trip to the United Arab Emirates where he met with senior Emirati officials, Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas says the government is “missing a historic opportunity” by failing to advance a diplomatic initiative that provides hope to Israelis and Palestinians alike, while also ending the war and returning the hostages.

The UAE has indicated that it would be willing to join a regional effort assisting in the post-war rehabilitation of Gaza if Israel agrees to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected such efforts, proposing instead that Abu Dhabi assist in the management of Gaza while Israel maintains a security presence there — an idea that led to a bitter condemnation from UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed, who met with Abbas last week.

“Despite the difficult and complex reality in which we’re living, there currently lies before us a historic opportunity that we must, must not miss,” Abbas says during a press statement before a meeting of his Islamist faction.

Abbas subsequently tweets a photo of his meeting with Bin Zayed and says Abu Dhabi is prepared to advance joint projects with Jerusalem to better serve Israel’s Arab citizens, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to promote such initiatives.

מאוד חשוב שאזרחי מדינת ישראל הערבים , יזכו לתועלות מהשלום בין ישראל ואיחוד האמירויות. יש נכונות מצד איחוד האמירויות, וחשוב שממשלת ישראל תקדם פרויקטים משותפים לטובת האזרחים הערבים. pic.twitter.com/XI0NBW1Py7

— Mansour Abbas מנסור עבאס (@mnsorabbas) May 20, 2024