UAE warns White House that Israeli annexations could unravel Abraham Accords
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Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords in 2020. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has told the Trump administration that Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank would harm the Abraham Accords and undermine the president's hopes of expanding them, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Why it matters: Israel is considering annexing large portions of the West Bank later this month in response to the recognition of a Palestinian state by several western countries. President Trump is likely the only foreign player who could stop it. The UAE message is that if he doesn't, a key aspect of his foreign policy legacy could unravel.
Between the lines: The Emirati position is significant because the UAE was the first Arab country to condemn the Oct. 7 attacks, has maintained relations with Israel throughout the war in Gaza and even worked with the Israeli government on a post-war plan.
- But the Emiratis have made clear in private and in public that they see annexation of parts of the West Bank as a "red line."
- "These plans, if carried out, will do substantial damage to the UAE-Israel relationship. And they will irreparably damage whatever remains of the vision of regional integration. In many ways, the choice before Israel right now is annexation or integration," a senior Emirati official told Axios.
Driving the news: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held several internal discussions about potential annexations, but no decisions have been made, Israeli officials say.
- President Trump blocked planned Israeli annexations twice in his first term, but hasn't taken a position yet this time around.
- Two Israeli officials claim Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signaled in private meetings that he doesn't oppose West Bank annexations and the Trump administration won't stand in the way.
- At least one senior official disagrees. White House envoy Steve Witkoff thinks Israeli annexations would complicate the U.S. ability to work with the Arab world on a post-war plan for Gaza, and undermine chances of a Saudi-Israeli peace deal, two sources with knowledge say.
- The White House and the State Department didn't respond to a request for comment.
Flashback: The UAE's condition for signing the accords in 2020 was that Israel rule out annexations.
- While Israeli officials say that commitment was time-bound and has expired, Emirati officials say annexation would violate spirit of the accords.
Behind the scenes: Over the last two weeks, Emirati officials have spoken to both the White House and the Netanyahu government to warn of the consequences of annexation, the two sources said.
- Emirati officials declined to comment on those private discussions, but didn't deny there's deep concern and anger in Abu Dhabi over Israel's plans.
- The senior Emirati official didn't expressly threaten the revocation of the UAE's peace agreement with Israel, but didn't take that off the table.
- Annexations would be "a death knell for the two-State solution," the official said. The official rejected the claim that Israel would simply be retaliating for the coming wave of recognitions of Palestine, saying that was "not believable."
State of play: The UAE has even gone public with their campaign to lobby Trump to stop Netanyahu.
- In an interview with The Times of Israel, Lana Nusseibeh, a senior adviser to the Emirati foreign minister, said the UAE believes the Trump administration has "many of the levers" to influence Israeli policy and prevent annexation.
- "We trust that President Trump will not allow the Abraham Accords tenet of his legacy to be tarnished, threatened or derailed by extremists and radicals," she said.
The intrigue: Rubio is expected to visit the region soon and participate in an event organized by a settler group in a politically sensitive archaeological site under the Palestinian village of Silwan in East Jerusalem, a very short distance from the al-Aqsa mosque, Israeli officials say.
- Rubio already spearheaded the barring of Palestinian officials from attending the UN General Assembly later this month — part of a string of moves the administration has made against the Palestinian Authority.
What's next: Netanyahu is expected to hold another meeting on the annexation plan on Thursday, Israeli officials say.
- Netanyahu's confidant Ron Dermer is expected travel to Miami on Sunday and later in the week will visit Washington for talks with Rubio and Witkoff.
