Kamel Hawwash, writer and political analyst, says the UAE’s move to open an embassy in Tel Aviv after Israel’s attack on Gaza shows the normalization is not concerned with peace for Palestinians.
Faraan: Hawwash said, “The murder of over sixty children in Gaza and the mass wanton destruction heaped on the Palestinians their outraged supports of justice throughout the world…The normalization agreement should at that stage have been canceled if the real motive was peace… That important peace card has now been squandered by the normalizing state, making peace between Israelis and Palestinians more remote.”
Kamel Hawwash is a Palestinian-British writer and political analyst.
Below is the full text of the interview:
Q: How could the UAE not only remain neutral when Gaza bleeded in May 2021, but also officially opened an embassy in Israel only a few weeks after?
A: Israeli attacks in Ramadan were not only targeted at Gaza, Jerusalem, and other areas in the West Bank but at Palestinian citizens of Israel. If the normalization agreements were predicated on peace for peace, then how can any state see Israel as a peaceful state? Any state, but particularly a Muslim state should have been outraged at Israeli forces desecrating Al-Aqsa mosque and attacking and terrorizing worshipers on the holiest nights in Ramadan, Lailat al-Qadr.
The murder of over sixty children in Gaza and the mass wanton destruction heaped on the Palestinians their outraged supports of justice throughout the world and brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets in Western capitals.
The normalization agreement should at that stage have been canceled if the real motive was peace. Instead, the UAE opened its Embassy in Tel Aviv and we saw its Ambassador celebrating eating falafel from what he described as ‘the oldest’ falafel shop in Israel. A short trip to the old city would have reminded him that the oldest falafel shop is Palestinian in Palestine, not Israeli in Israel and does not taste of Apartheid as the Israeli falafel does. The Embassy should not have been opened and the Israeli Ambassador to the UAE should have been sent back.
Q: Palestinians called the UAE’s normalization deal a stab in the back. Do you think that was a stab in the back of Palestine, or the Arab world?
A: The UAE, together with other Arab countries approved the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia’s peace initiative which put normalization as a reward for Israel once it had ended the occupation of Arab land and justice and been delivered to the Palestinians. That important peace card has now been squandered by the normalizing state, making peace between Israelis and Palestinians more remote. Neither the UAE, nor any other normalizing state can articulate how normalizing relations with Israel has contributed to peace. Egypt is still bound by a strict set of rules about what military movements it can have in the Sinai, while Jordan’s custodianship at al-Aqsa mosque is violated through settler break-ins on a daily basis.
The UAE can see daily evictions and home demolitions in Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley off but pretend that Israel is a normal state. It has even welcomed settler delegations and wine from stolen Syrian land to its shops. As a sovereign nation, it can re-evaluate the normalization deal, cancel it and stand with the victim and against the oppressor.
Q: Over 5000 Israelis are reportedly granted Emirat’s citizenship in only three months. With its new citizenship program and normalization deal with Israel, do you believe the UAE is risking losing its Islamic identity, or sovereignty?
A: News that over 5000 Israelis have been granted UAE citizenship is bizarre. One has to question why? Does the UAE hand citizenship to even foreign residents who have lived there for decades and contributed to its development easily? The answer is no. Ask any ex-pat about this and they will confirm this. With the normalization deal only months old, what has any Israeli contributed to the UAE’s development? Why would Israelis want UAE citizenship for? I do not believe it is because of loyalty to that country but for other motives.
With a UAE citizenship, Israelis can now have almost unfettered access to all Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, where we hear Zionists wish to lay claims to lands they argue belonged to Jews before Islam. Are Israeli settlers holding UAE passports suddenly going to become ‘doves of peace’? The answer is no and I wonder how much has the UAE studied the potential misuse of its passport by Israelis for secretive activity?
A final question is whether Emirati citizens will in turn be granted Israeli citizenship and if they are, will they really be treated equally with Jewish Israelis?
