Unilateral move in West Bank ‘will ignite violence and awake the extremists,’ top diplomat warns
A top United Arab Emirates (UAE) diplomat said that Israel’s West Bank annexation bid is a “wrong provocation of a different magnitude” and would harm chances of normalizing ties with the Arab world.
“Normalization isn’t annexation,” UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba wrote in a unique column published Friday by Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Aharonoth.
Al-Otaiba stressed that the UAE, including a large portion of the Arab world, “would like to believe that Israel is an opportunity, not an enemy,” while noting the potential for warmer relations between the countries.
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“Annexation will reverse, for sure and immediately, all Israeli aspirations for improved security, economy and culture with the Arab world and the UAE,” the diplomat stated.
He further mentioned Jordan, saying that an Israeli unilateral step “will ignite violence and awake the extremists” and will mainly influence Jordan, stipulating that the Hashemite Kingdom stability benefits the entire region — “Israel especially.”
Abu Dhabi made history on Tuesday with its first direct Etihad Airways flight from the Gulf to Tel Aviv, the second UAE humanitarian cargo aimed for Palestinians which was turned down for a second time by Ramallah in a month.
Content retrieved from: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/1591940828-uae-tells-israel-to-choose-between-annexation-or-normalization-with-arab-world?fbclid=IwAR00pKxttfQhnl84CdHCLNmAyQXskT8DTnBrSJA0BiJs4-vILsd3BpgjrwA.