Israel Backs Off From West Bank Annexation Plans After UAE Threat 

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia warned this week that Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank could unravel normalization agreements and block future ties, placing new pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his coalition faces mounting calls from far-right ministers to move ahead with annexation despite international alarm, the Washington Post reported. 

Earlier this month, the Israeli government said it would review proposals to annex the West Bank as a possible response to France and other Western nations’ plans to recognize a Palestinian state, Israeli officials told CNN. 

Netanyahu was set to meet with cabinet members on Thursday to discuss Israel’s response. However, the annexation proposals prompted a strong reaction from Arab countries, including the UAE.  

Last week, Emirati envoy Lana Nusseibeh said annexation was a “red line” that would “foreclose on the idea of regional integration.” Emirati officials complained that Israel and the United States had ignored months of private appeals, forcing them to go public.  

Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed said that normalization with Israel would be rolled back if sovereignty moves proceed, according to Gulf officials as reported by the Times of Israel. 

The officials added that any annexation would also halt progress toward Riyadh’s own normalization with Israel. 

Analysts noted that such warnings threaten the durability of the Abraham Accords that normalized ties with Israel and the UAE and other countries in 2020. They added that the annexation plan also risked Israel’s efforts to reach a long-sought deal with Saudi Arabia. 

By Thursday, the annexation issue was taken off the agenda at a high-level cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israeli officials acknowledged, underscoring how Abu Dhabi’s unusual public pressure has rattled Netanyahu’s government.  

Despite the warnings, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday unveiled a plan to annex 82 percent of the West Bank, calling it time to “remove once and for all” the idea of a Palestinian state.  

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir pushed annexation again at Thursday’s cabinet meeting, regardless of Arab objections.  

Western governments, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and France, have pledged to soon recognize Palestinian statehood, while the US has taken a more cautious line, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying annexation was “not a final thing.” 

The debate over annexation comes as indirect negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza remain stalled, the BBC added.  

Hamas said this week it was ready for a “comprehensive deal” to end the nearly two-year war and free all remaining hostages, even as Israel dismissed the statement as “more spin.”

Families of hostages warned that Israel’s looming offensive into Gaza City could endanger the remaining captives. On Saturday, in a rally organized by the hostages’ families and held in front of the prime minister’s house in Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Israelis protested the war and the lack of action to bring home the hostages. Protesters called the Israeli leader “a traitor.”