According to three people briefed on the Gulf Arab state’s discussions, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration annexes all or a portion of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the United Arab Emirates may reestablish diplomatic relations with Israel.
Downgrading diplomatic ties would be a significant blow to the Abraham Accords, a key foreign policy accomplishment of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The United Arab Emirates is one of the few Arab nations with diplomatic links to Israel.
Recent actions by Israel’s administration may foreshadow the annexation of the West Bank, which was taken in a 1967 conflict together with East Jerusalem. The majority of nations and the UN are against such a move.
For Netanyahu, who depends on right-wing nationalist groups to form his government.
