UAE said weighing Qatari request to close Emirati embassy in Tel Aviv over Doha strike

The UAE is reportedly considering a Qatari request to close Abu Dhabi’s embassy in Tel Aviv as part of a series of steps Doha is pushing against Israel in retaliation for Jerusalem’s strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha.

The UAE, which is already eager to rid itself of Israeli Ambassador to Abu Dhabi Yossi Shelley over his reported misconduct, has attentively received the Qatari request, Haaretz reports, citing unnamed diplomatic sources in Gulf states.

While Qatar didn’t respond to the June Iranian strike on the al-Ubeid airbase near Doha that houses US troops, it is not planning to take that approach this time around, a regional diplomat tells Haaretz.

“The gloves are off,” the diplomat says.

Qatar has fumed at Israel for the Tuesday strike, highlighting that both Jerusalem and Washington were the ones who had asked Doha to host Hamas leaders in recent years, believing it would be best to keep an eye on them inside of a US-allied country, as opposed to other places where adversaries have more influence.

Meanwhile, the Kan public broadcaster reports that Gulf countries will reevaluate their ties with Israel during an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Sunday in Doha that was called to discuss the Israeli strike,