Secret Correspondences between UAE's Al-Otaiba and an Israeli General Revealed

Middle East Eye, has revealed that  Yusef Al-Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Washington, sought through an American mediator to meet with the General Uzi Rubin – also known as the Father of the Iron Dome, a missile system deployed near Gaza – during the Israeli military bombardment and invasion of the Gaza strip in 2012.

This revelation was came from leaks of Al-Otaiba’s email account by hackers belonging to the Global Leaks Group. The leaked emails included an exchange between Al-Otaiba and the American mediator, as well as between Al-Otaiba and Rubin.

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The website said that the attempts by Al-Otaiba to meet the Israeli General show that the bilateral relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the Israel has never been ad hoc but is the result of a relationship that has been developing over the years.

These secret communications between Al-Otaiba and the Rubin reveal that the UAE’s diplomatic relationship with the Israeli occupation has progressed.

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According to the website, one of the leaked messages is from the executive director of a pro-Israeli Think Tank that invites Al-Otaiba to meet Rubin. The website also points out that three days later Al-Otaiba and Rubin were exchanging emails directly.

According to Middle East Eye, the correspondence started by both parties after about a month after the “Pillar of Defense” military campaign against Gaza began back in 2012.

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Rubin had already visited Washington to report on the ability of “Iron Dome” system to counter the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. He told his audience “in terms of strategy, the last confrontation was, to a large extent, managed by the press of a button.”

He added that “there were many countries that could make use of this system, especially the Gulf countries, to counter the Iranian missile threat”.

Reportedly the American mediator used these statements to convince Al-Otaiba to meet Rubin in order to raise the issue of Gulf Countries benefiting from their system.

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Al-Otaiba responded “I have never met Rubin before, but I am highly interested in knowing about the performance of the system in Gaza. I read in the press about its performance but I wanted to know more, and in more detail.

The website pointed out that the American mediator sought to have permission to introduce Rubin in order to pave the way for a meeting between the two parties in the future, and Al-Otaiba agreed. The American mediator succeeded in opening a direct communication channel between Al-Otaiba and Rubin.

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One of the email exchanges sent by Al-Otaiba to Rublin, and that dates back to 22 December, 2012, reveals that Al Otaiba said, “let me know next time you come to Washington”, to which Rubin answered “ I have just arrived home , maybe next time. Greetings, Uz”.