UAE Grant to Jerusalem Hospital Sparks Fears of Political Infiltration
Controversy surrounds a $64.5 million Emirati grant to Al-Makassed Hospital, as Palestinians warn of hidden political motives and normalization efforts in occupied Jerusalem.
Watan-In a scene that appears humanitarian on the surface, a UAE grant of $64.5 million to Al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem has sparked widespread controversy in Palestinian and Arab circles.
The grant, recently announced and publicly marketed as support for the healthcare sector, comes at an extremely sensitive time — amid intensifying Israeli aggression on Gaza and growing fears of Judaization projects targeting Jerusalem.
However, behind this apparent support, informed sources have circulated troubling information suggesting that the grant comes with “non-medical” conditions aimed at imposing direct Emirati influence over the hospital’s administration. The sources spoke of requirements including the appointment of medical and administrative staff affiliated with Abu Dhabi, which observers see as an attempt to infiltrate the social fabric and national representation of Palestinians within the occupied city.
According to the same sources, the Emirati moves are part of a calculated normalization plan designed to present the UAE as an “acceptable Arab actor” to the Israeli occupation — one that could later take on sensitive roles in managing Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem, at the expense of national and resistance forces. This approach reflects a dangerous alignment between the UAE and the Israeli vision of liquidating the Palestinian cause through soft-power tools — beginning with aid and ending with identity transformation.
“Soft Power or Silent Betrayal? The UAE’s Role in Jerusalem and the Future of Palestinian Identity”
Strikingly, this is not the first time Abu Dhabi has used humanitarian aid as a “Trojan horse” to infiltrate Arab communities. Previous reports revealed Emirati involvement in a failed plan to transfer Gaza’s population to Somalia, in direct coordination with Washington and Tel Aviv. The UAE’s track record of normalization and complicity remains evident — from Libya and Sudan to Jerusalem and Gaza.
All of this raises the fundamental question once again: Is the “Emirati grant” truly intended to support Palestinians? Or is the deeper goal to turn Jerusalem’s institutions into tools for normalization and to dismantle the Palestinian national identity?
Amid this ambiguity, growing Palestinian calls are demanding the rejection of politically conditioned foreign funding, and the urgent need to protect Jerusalem’s institutions from political infiltration — no matter who the funder may be.
