The UAE has held secret talks with the US and Israel and said it is ready to join an international peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed has told the US and Israel that his country is ready to send “ground troops” to Gaza in a post-war war.
According to reports on Tuesday, Israel, the United States and the UAE held a secret meeting in Abu Dhabi last Thursday to discuss plans for the post-war Gaza Strip.
According to an Axios report citing two Israeli officials, the talks were hosted by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and were attended by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, US President Joe Biden’s MENA envoy Brett McGurk and State Department adviser Tom Sullivan.
A day before the meeting between US, Emirati and Israeli officials, a senior Emirati official suggested Abu Dhabi was willing to contribute troops to a post-war peacekeeping force in Gaza, Axios reported, making the UAE the first Arab country to publicly support a plan that the Biden administration has been quietly pursuing.
Abdullah bin Zayed’s special envoy, Lana Nusseibeh, writing in the Financial Times, argued for a “temporary international mission” in Gaza.
She called for the mission to address the humanitarian crisis, establish law and order, lay the foundations for functioning governance and pave the way for the reintegration of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank under a single, legitimate Palestinian Authority.
Axios also reports that international forces can only enter Gaza with a formal invitation from the Palestinian Authority.
The plan does not say what role Israel would play alongside the proposed international force, but Axios sources say it is clear the US will play a key role.
The UAE is known for its strong opposition to Hamas, which currently controls the Gaza Strip and continues to conduct combat operations against Israel, but the Gulf state also has strong concerns about the current configuration of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, with Bin Zayed reportedly calling them “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves” during a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Notably, no Palestinian representatives were present at the meeting, raising doubts as to whether a multinational force would have legitimacy among the Palestinian people, who have suffered unimaginable suffering from Israel’s bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip.