Ashkenazi urges Palestinians to be like UAE and make nice

In a rare interview with an Emirati publication, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Askhenazi praises the United Arab Emirates’ leadership and calls on the Palestinians to learn from the Emirates’ example in normalizing with Israel.

The interview, which is set to be published in full tomorrow, will be printed in the Abu Dhabi-based al-Ittihad newspaper.

Ashkenazi praised UAE Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed, whom he calls “a true leader who leads his people to prosperity and success.”

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi talks to the media at a news conference in front of the Liebermann Villa at the Wannsee lake in Berlin, Germany, August 27, 2020. (Michele Tantussi/Pool Photo via AP)

“We appreciate [Bin Zayed’s] vision and pioneering role with his courageous decision to enter the history books alongside the world’s leaders in peace,” Ashkenazi says.

“I call on the Palestinian leadership to understand reality, be responsible, play a leadership role similar to what the UAE and Bahrain, and return to the negotiating table,” Ashkenazi says.

Ashkenazi also says that he is hopeful that the peace with the Emirates will be a warm peace between peoples rather than a cold peace between governments.

“The positive reactions of UAE citizens on social media have filled our hearts with warmth and planted hope within us for security and friendship among peoples,” Askhenazi says.

— Aaron Boxerman