The UAE hit out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday after the Israeli leader said the Gulf state could be involved in aiding a future government in Gaza after the war.
The UAE denounced the Israeli leader’s comments, said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in an early morning post on X.
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“The UAE denounces the statements of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, about calling on the state to participate in civil administration of the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli occupation,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said in an Arabic post.
“The UAE stresses that the Israeli prime minister does not have any legal capacity to take this step, and the UAE refuses to be drawn into any plan aimed at providing cover for the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip,” he added.
Sheikh Abdullah said the UAE would be prepared to support a Palestinian government that met the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people, which he said included independence.
In an interview that aired this week, Netanyahu said the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other countries could possibly assist a civilian government with Gazans in the enclave after the war.
Prominent members of Netanyahu’s cabinet reject the idea of an independent Palestinian state and Netanyahu has said Israel would need to maintain security control of Gaza after the war.
Palestinians hope to establish an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, an aspiration the UAE supports.
The UAE has frequently criticised Israel over the war and the high civilian death toll, though it has asserted that diplomatic ties have allowed it to get aid into the Gaza Strip.