Report: Israel, US, UAE held secret Abu Dhabi meeting on postwar plan for Gaza

Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates held a secret meeting in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss potential plans for postwar Gaza, two Israeli officials tell Axios.

According to the report, the discussions were hosted by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed, and were attended by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and US President Joe Biden’s Mideast envoy Brett McGurk.

Two senior Israeli officials who have been involved in the formulation of plans for the Strip at the conclusion of the war were also in attendance, the report says.

Axios notes that the day before the US, UAE and Israeli officials met, a senior Emirati official signaled that Abu Dhabi is prepared to contribute troops to a postwar peacekeeping force in Gaza, making it  the first Arab country to publicly buy into the effort being quietly advanced by the Biden administration.

Lana Nusseibeh, who serves as special envoy of bin Zayed, penned an op-ed in the Financial Times in which she called for the establishment of a “temporary international mission” in Gaza “that responds to the humanitarian crisis, establishes law and order, lays the groundwork for governance and paves the way to reuniting Gaza and the occupied West Bank under a single, legitimate Palestinian Authority.”

The US has repeatedly warned that continued Israeli refusal to advance a viable plan for the postwar management of Gaza will lead to a never-ending war in the enclave.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.