The United Arab Emirates has issued a sharp warning to Israel, declaring that any move to annex parts of the West Bank would cross a red line and endanger both the Abraham Accords and hopes of regional integration. The message, delivered privately and publicly, reflects growing Emirati anger at Israeli discussions over annexation and its likely impact on the fragile framework of peace and normalisation.
At the heart of Abu Dhabi’s stance is the belief that annexation would irreparably damage the vision of cooperation underpinning the accords. The UAE became the first Arab state in more than a quarter of a century to establish open ties with Israel when it signed the United States-brokered deal in 2020. At the time, Israel assured the Emirates that annexation of Palestinian territory would be shelved. Israeli officials now suggest that commitment has lapsed, but Emirati diplomats insist any such action would breach the agreement’s core principles.
Lana Nusseibeh, a senior adviser to the Emirati foreign minister, warned that annexation would severely undermine the accords, collapse the pursuit of regional integration and dismantle the global consensus that peace rests on two states living side by side. She described annexation as the death knell for the two-state solution, which Arab governments still see as the only viable route to lasting stability.
The warning comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers various annexation options in response to talk in several Western capitals of recognising a Palestinian state. Netanyahu has condemned such recognition as a reward for terrorism after the October 2023 attacks. His far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has gone further, presenting a plan to annex more than 80 per cent of the West Bank. The proposal, designed to secure maximum land with minimum Arabs, would encircle Palestinian population centres and eliminate the prospect of a contiguous state. Other scenarios include formal control of settlements, annexation of Area C or a move on the Jordan Valley.
Abu Dhabi has also directed its appeal to Washington. Officials believe only President Donald Trump, who brokered the accords during his first term, has the influence to stop Israel from proceeding. They argue annexation would unravel one of his most significant foreign policy achievements. Steve Witkoff, the White House envoy, is said to share concerns that annexation would complicate US efforts to work with Arab partners on a post-war plan for Gaza and undermine chances of a Saudi-Israeli peace deal.
Yet there are signs of a shift in Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated he does not oppose annexation, raising fears in the Emirates of a change in American policy compared with Trump’s first term, when he blocked Israeli moves twice. Nusseibeh appealed directly to the president, saying the UAE trusted him not to allow the accords to be tarnished by extremists. She added that Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, remained open to normalisation with Israel, but only if annexation was abandoned and a credible path to Palestinian statehood pursued.
Despite the war in Gaza, the Emirates have kept relations with Israel and engaged in talks on reconstruction, seeing the accords as a way to back Palestinian aspirations for independence. But the annexation debate has pushed the agreement to a critical point.
A senior Emirati official summed up the choice as one between annexation and integration. Choosing annexation, he warned, would close the door on regional cooperation, entrench conflict, and push the Middle East towards a point of no return. For Abu Dhabi, the decision now rests with Israel, but its consequences will shape not only the future of the accords but also the wider prospects for peace and stability across the region.