UAE calls off Netanyahu trip, says it won’t get involved in ‘Israeli electioneering’

The United Arab Emirates has called off Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first trip to the Gulf State, saying it will not be a part in any internal electioneering in ‘Israel’, now or ever.

“From the UAE’s perspective, the purpose of the Abrahamic Accords is to provide a robust strategic foundation to foster peace and prosperity with the State of Israel and in the wider region,” former UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted on Wednesday.

“The UAE will not be a part in any internal electioneering in Israel, now or ever.”

From the UAE’s perspective, the purpose of the Abrahamic Accords is to provide a robust strategic foundation to foster peace and prosperity with the State of Israel and in the wider region. The UAE will not be a part in any internal electioneering in Israel, now or ever.

— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) March 17, 2021

The statement by Gargash, who left his position last month, was unusually candid for someone close to the decision-making in Abu Dhabi, The Jerusalem Post said.

However, Netanyahu denied that a trip had been planned for this week, telling Radio Galey Israel, “I’m not going to Abu Dhabi before the election. It’s spin. I don’t know who spread it.”

An Emirati source said that the government is preparing for a meeting between Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the UAE’s capital on Wednesday or Thursday.

According to a political source, Netanyahu cleared his schedule of campaign events for Thursday, The Jerusalem Post reported.

No official Israeli source, however, has confirmed the news.

“The prime minister’s office has resumed contacts with representatives of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, to coordinate Netanyahu’s visit,” the Israel Hayom newspaper said.

“According to the current plan, which has not been finally approved, the visit will take place on Thursday,” the daily added.

Netanyahu cancelled a planned visit to the UAE on Thursday due to difficulties in coordinating his flight in Jordanian airspace, as the latter cancelled the trip in retaliation for the Jordanian crown prince’s canceled trip to Al-Aqsa mosque on Wednesday, which he called off amid a dispute with ‘Israel’ over entry permits for his security detail.

The trip by Netanyahu was supposed to be his first official visit since normalizing the relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain last year.

Netanyahu had originally been set to make the trip in November, then December, and then in January, and the last in February, but the pandemic, scheduling issues, and internal political crises led him to postpone repeatedly.

The UAE was the first country to agree to normalize ties with the occupation state under the Abraham Accords, a pact brokered by the United States, a move that was followed by Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.