The foreign minister said that the UAE has sent 42% of the international humanitarian aid to Gaza, and he credited the Abraham Accords for making it possible.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan emphasized that the first step in a roadmap for Gaza is the release of the remaining hostages.
“First of all, getting the hostages out. Then, we need calm in Gaza, and we need a leadership that is not Hamas governing Gaza. If we can provide citizens with ideas, we are always here to do so,” the Emirati minister said.
Discussing conversations he had with Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, Nahyan said, “I believe they are very much fed up with the current state of affairs, and you can hear it from them. They want an end to this war.”
When asked about the PA’s role in controlling Gaza, he said, “Now, whether they will have a part to play or not, that depends on how the US and Israel would help or try to prevent it in the moment, but ultimately, only Palestinians will run Gaza.”
He discussed the pivotal role the UAE has played in sending humanitarian aid to Gaza and credited the Abraham Accords for making it possible.
“The UAE has provided over 42% of all international aid to Gaza for almost two years this war has lasted. If it wasn’t for the Abraham Accords between the UAE and Israel, and the substantial role played by President Trump, I don’t think we would have been able to deliver so much aid into Gaza.”
At several points since the war began, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that he would never permit the Palestinian Authority to regain control over the Gaza Strip, and he rejected the suggestion that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas could govern the coastal enclave after the current war between Israel and Hamas.
In December 2023, Netanyahu tweeted, “So long as I am prime minister, this won’t happen.”
“Anyone who educates his [people’s] children in terrorism, who funds terrorism and gives money to the families of terrorists, cannot govern Gaza after we have annihilated Hamas,” he stated.