UAE calls Israeli annexation plan a 'red line', warns of Abraham Accords fallout

The United Arab Emirates has warned Israel that any attempt to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would cross a “red line” for Abu Dhabi and risk derailing the Abraham Accords, which formalised ties between the two countries.

“From the very beginning, we viewed the Accords as a way to enable our continued support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspiration for an independent state,” said Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Assistant Minister for Political Affairs and envoy of the Foreign Minister, in comments to Reuters.

“That was our position in 2020, and it remains our position today,” she added, in what marks Abu Dhabi’s strongest rebuke of Israeli policies since the Gaza war erupted in 2023.

The Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States during President Donald Trump’s first term, brought diplomatic recognition between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco.

“We call on the Israeli government to suspend these plans,” Nusseibeh said. “Extremists, of any kind, cannot be allowed to dictate the region’s trajectory. Peace requires courage, persistence, and a refusal to let violence define our choices.”