UAE halts military purchase from Israel amid political crisis facing Netanyahu

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reportedly halted the purchase of advanced surface-to-air missile system from Israel amid political turmoil facing embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as anti-Palestinian remarks by two extremist Israeli ministers.

The Arabic-language Arabi21 online newspaper, citing a report by Israel’s Channel 12 television channel, said the UAE’s decision came in response to recent actions and statements by Israel’s so-called National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The channel quoted Israeli sources as saying that the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has announced the freeze on the deal.

“As long as we do not receive assurances that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is able to control his administration, we cannot undertake common projects,” Al Nahyan said.

Protests have been snowballing in the Occupied Territories over the past two months since Netanyahu's controversial move to reform the judiciary.

Back on September 22 last year, Reuters cited two sources as saying that Israel had approved a UAE request and would supply the Persian Gulf state with Rafael-made SPYDER mobile interceptors.

A third source said the UAE had acquired Israeli technology capable of combating drone attacks like those that struck Abu Dhabi earlier that year.

It was not clear how many interceptors, which are fitted to vehicles and can defend against short to long-range threats, would be supplied, or if any had already been shipped.

Back in 2020, the UAE and Bahrain signed US-brokered agreements with Israel to normalize their ties with the regime. Some other Arab states, namely Sudan and Morocco, followed suit soon afterward.

The normalization deals have sparked widespread condemnations from the Palestinians as well as nations and human rights advocates across the globe, especially within the Muslim world.

ME