UAE’s Role in Trump’s Gaza Displacement Plan: Breaking Arab Unity

Watan-The French newspaper Le Monde highlighted the UAE’s deliberate efforts to break the Arab front opposing U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to forcibly displace the population of Gaza to neighboring countries.

The newspaper stated that “a discordant note from the UAE has emerged within the unified Arab front against Trump’s plan to forcibly displace two million Palestinians from Gaza.”

It pointed out that when asked about the existence of an Arab counterproposal to Trump’s plan for Gaza, Yousef Al Otaiba, the influential UAE ambassador in Washington, who has held the position since 2008, expressed skepticism.

The UAE ambassador in Washington stated that he sees “no alternative” to the plan announced by the U.S. president to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, he added: “I don’t see an alternative to what is being proposed. I really don’t see another option. So if anyone has an alternative, we are happy to discuss it and explore it, but so far, nothing has surfaced.”

He noted that Abu Dhabi would “try” to find common ground with the Trump administration. He stated: “I think the current approach will be difficult. But ultimately, we are all in the business of finding solutions. We just don’t know where this will end up yet.”

Le Monde pointed out that Al Otaiba’s skepticism contradicts the determination of other Arab partners to thwart Trump’s plan. Egypt and Jordan, which strongly oppose the forced displacement of Gaza’s population onto their territories—considering it a red line—took the lead in rejecting the proposal as soon as they realized that the U.S. president’s plan was not just a fleeting idea.

During his meeting with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II was the first to confront the U.S. president and appeared visibly tense over this dangerous policy.

On Wednesday, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a phone call from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which they emphasized the importance of achieving “a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East” based on a two-state solution.

This raises questions about the UAE’s public stance on Trump’s plan, as it officially declares its opposition to any forced displacement of Palestinians.

Nevertheless, Israel continues to impose a devastating blockade on Gaza, which has lasted for 18 years and includes severe restrictions on food, water, and medicine. Nearly two million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have become internally displaced due to the war in Gaza.

A few days ago, Arab diplomatic sources revealed details of the UAE’s conspiracy within the Arab League to push forward Trump’s plan, in coordination with Israel, to displace Palestinians from Gaza.

These sources discussed contacts related to arranging the emergency Arab summit to be hosted in Cairo on February 27. Despite broad consensus on rejecting the forced displacement of Gaza’s residents in the summit’s final statement, the UAE created a crisis by insisting on modifying the wording.

An Arab diplomat stated that Cairo and Jordan led recent negotiations, resulting in broad agreement on key principles for the summit’s final statement, with an explicit rejection of Palestinian displacement from Gaza or the West Bank.

However, the diplomat added that the UAE insisted on amending the rejection clause, conditioning its approval of the statement on adding the word “forced,” thereby limiting its opposition only to forced displacement.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a few days ago that Cairo would host an emergency Arab summit on February 27 to discuss the serious developments in the Palestinian issue.

Two days ago, diplomatic sources revealed the UAE’s support for Trump’s plan of ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, hoping this would completely eliminate Palestinian resistance factions.

Sources told Emirates Leaks that the UAE government conveyed identical verbal messages to senior Trump administration officials, expressing Abu Dhabi’s support for Trump’s plan and its willingness to facilitate its implementation, including providing financial backing.

The sources explained that the UAE offered to receive a limited number of Gaza residents, particularly those affiliated with the reformist current led by Mohammed Dahlan, who serves as a special advisor to the UAE president, along with their families, as part of implementing Trump’s plan.

According to the sources, the UAE believes that displacing Gaza’s population is the only way to completely destroy Palestinian resistance capabilities, eliminate all its members, and permanently end the tensions caused by ongoing conflict in the region.

They added that the UAE views Trump’s plan to “control” Gaza and force its population to leave as a potential short-term source of tension but as a long-term solution, even if it entails a significant escalation of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.

The UAE also disregards the fact that international humanitarian law prohibits permanent forced displacement of occupied populations, considering it a war crime when carried out with criminal intent. Moreover, if forced displacement is conducted as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians in a way that reflects state policy, it constitutes a crime against humanity.

Emirati officials argue that the massive destruction in Gaza, resulting from Israeli policies, has rendered vast areas of the Strip uninhabitable. They claim that rebuilding Gaza with Gulf funding would be “pointless” as long as Hamas and other resistance factions remain active, potentially leading to renewed conflict with Israel.

Trump has proposed large-scale Palestinian displacement and “control” over Gaza as a possible U.S. policy while standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government is responsible for the current situation and is a key ally of the UAE.

Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have deliberately carried out mass forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, with some being displaced multiple times. Senior Israeli officials have openly stated their intention to expel Gaza’s population.

Additionally, Israeli authorities have deliberately created living conditions designed to destroy part of Gaza’s Palestinian population, including by depriving them of food, water, and other essential resources—actions that constitute crimes against humanity, including genocide.

Trump’s statements on Gaza have been widely rejected, not only by neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan but also by many other governments, including Germany, Australia, Ireland, Britain, Brazil, China, Russia, and the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Israeli media had previously revealed details of a UAE-Israel conspiracy to suppress Palestinian resistance in Gaza after the war by imposing new administrative arrangements if the ceasefire holds and the war ends.

According to information published by Israel Hayom, Abu Dhabi has conditionally agreed to take responsibility for governing Gaza after the war. The UAE aims to rebuild the region in a way that neutralizes any potential threat to Israel.

Diplomatic sources have also exposed the details of a UAE-Israel plan to impose a so-called “day-after” strategy for Gaza, which fundamentally seeks to dismantle Palestinian resistance.

These sources indicate that Abu Dhabi’s plan includes deploying military contractors (mercenaries) in Gaza, granting Israel ultimate authority over the Strip’s governance and security, and marginalizing Hamas and other resistance factions over the long term.