The functionary state is officially in Israel’s embrace: Part one

In my previous article, I wondered, in whose interest the battle that the UAE is calling for and wants to ignite between Egypt and Turkey will be, in order to understand the truth of its functionary role. Who is it playing for and in whose interest? Which state is interested in weakening the region’s two most powerful armies and pushing them into a battle in which even the victor is a loser?

Just a day later, the answer came from the UAE itself when it officially announced normalising relations with Israel in all sectors. It announced this through Trump, who witnessed this forbidden agreement, which he falsely called a peace agreement, as if they were in a state of war, not in a state of love, clear to those near and far. It is the first peace agreement in history between an occupier and its agent.

This announcement was not surprising to those who have been following Abu Dhabi’s actions since Mohammed bin Zayed ascended to power. All events were pointing in this direction and it was inevitable. Perhaps the surprise is at the delay in officially announcing this, as normalisation has been in full swing for a long time. It picked up pace since the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolutions and the two states thwarted these revolutions together and fuelled the counter-revolution, as they are both against democracy and the freedom of the Arab peoples, which will topple them both.

Their normalisation took many forms, including normalisation in sports by hosting the Israeli sports team and celebrating it, as well as waving the Israeli flag in the skies of Abu Dhabi as the Israeli national anthem played. There has also been cultural normalisation in the form of hosting the radial Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev, and warmly welcoming her with flowers, as well as accompanying her to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, although she had previously described the call to prayer as “crying dogs of Mohammed”. She cried at the generous hospitality she received, as the long-awaited Zionist dream came true and Zionists are not allowed to wander around Arab countries in broad daylight and in full view of the whole world without needing to hide their Zionist identity.

We are also witnessing military normalisation as the two armies participated in joint military manoeuvres in 2016 and 2017, in addition to Abu Dhabi buying weapons from Israel. This includes, but is not limited to, spy planes, modern intelligence tools, and advanced air defence systems that they sent to Libya to support the criminal Haftar.

READ: The Gulf’s recognition of Israel opens new doors, but will kill the dream of an Arab Jerusalem

Art played an important role in normalisation, as Abu Dhabi produced Zionist series without the slightest shame and showed them last Ramadan, after the Zionist adoration for the crown prince became public after being hidden behind the scenes for many years. The television series shed light on the history of the special relations between Arabs and Jews. The series “Umm Haroun” pays tribute to the Jewish mother in comparison to her Arab neighbours.

They also showed another series calling for normalisation with the Zionist enemy with unprecedented explicitness called “Exit 7”, in which the issue of normalisation is presented bluntly and misleadingly. It goes beyond the desire of a country for normalisation, but rather justifies an attack on the Palestinians by accusing them of accusations difficult to air on an Arab channel unless on the instructions of Bin Zayed himself.

There were organised campaigns to whitewash the Zionist enemy through television dramas and television programmes, social media, and statements by those known as the Emirati elites to deepen this misleading concept.

The “conspiracy” state has welcomed Israeli ministers and figures in all fields in a number of conferences held in Dubai. It was recently leaked that Netanyahu secretly visited Abu Dhabi twice, and Emirati officials have visited Israel in secret and openly dozens of times. They have also publicly sent two planes carrying personal protective equipment to Ben Gurion airport and has allowed Emirates airline planes to fly directly in Israeli airports. Furthermore, it made many major commercial deals, and recently signed a cooperation agreement between them to fight the coronavirus.

The era of secrecy has passed, and the three Arab League “No’s” (no reconciliation, no recognition, and no negotiations with Israel) decided after the June 1967 defeat, have been forgotten. The Arab Peace Initiative, launched by Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in 2002, was buried after the Arab League had previously considered it the basis for normalisation with Israel, stipulates the establishment of an internationally recognised Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, the return of refugees, and Israel’s withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for recognition and normalised relations between the Arab countries and Tel Aviv.

In order for Israel to approve all of the required paperwork and officially recognise it, the UAE had to allow the construction of a Jewish synagogue on its land and prayers must be held in it. Israel media and religious circles celebrated the first Sabbath prayer in the Arabian Peninsula. Moreover, 3,000 Jewish people from different countries were attracted to reside in the UAE and they set up an official Twitter account known as JewishUae. Meanwhile, Palestinians are being expelled from the country.

All of the above is what has been occurring openly and publicly, and Abu Dhabi has been keen on highlighting it under the pretext of spreading the spirit of tolerance and peace in the region, thus whitewashing the sinful relationship between it and Israel. As for what’s been hidden and has been going on behind the scenes, it is greater and more dangerous.

These dangers will be outlined in tomorrow’s article.

READ: The Gulf’s recognition of Israel opens new doors, but will kill the dream of an Arab Jerusalem

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.