UAE and Israel Join Forces to Distort Palestinian Resistance, Spark Tensions

Recent leaks have disclosed secret details about the covert collaboration between the UAE and Israel aimed at undermining Palestinian resistance and inciting against it. This effort is being executed through media platforms managed jointly by teams in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

The documents indicate that the Emirati government has invested tens of millions of dollars in content creators and influencers to produce media narratives that distort the image of the resistance, malign its leaders, minimize its achievements, and shift the blame for the destruction and casualties in Gaza onto the resistance itself.

These documents further reveal that the role of these creators and influencers on Emirati-Israeli media platforms is to manipulate Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic public opinion against the resistance and to promote the normalization of relations with Israel.

A key player in this initiative is the “blinx” platform, a digital media project launched last September in Dubai. Marketed by Emirati entities as a pioneering “media hub” in the Middle East, the platform has introduced “blinx news,” which focuses on content supporting the joint Emirati-Israeli agenda with substantial financial backing from Abu Dhabi.

The UAE has equipped the “blinx” platform with cutting-edge studios and extended reality technologies to simulate the Metaverse. Its control rooms feature the latest live production tools, including AI-enhanced video and data analysis to enrich content.

Analysis of the platform’s content reveals that it primarily seeks to incite against the Palestinian resistance and damage the Palestinian cause, while promoting the Israeli military and glossing over its actions against Palestinian civilians.

One example is a misleading video released by “blinx news,” which features a former Israeli prisoner held by Gaza’s resistance. The video has been manipulated to falsely suggest that the prisoner was coerced into marriage during Israel’s intense military campaign on Gaza.

Simultaneously, Emirati digital operatives, referred to as “electronic flies,” have been active for months, creating numerous fake social media accounts to influence and shape the discourse surrounding the Israeli conflict with Gaza.

An examination of these operatives’ social media activities shows a clear agenda: to demonize the Palestinian resistance and support Israel, while also promoting Abu Dhabi’s purported humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

The Emirati “electronic flies” have intensified their campaigns by impersonating fake Palestinian identities to sow discord and provoke local sentiment in Gaza against the resistance. Their activities include attributing the destruction of Gaza to the resistance and accusing it of misappropriating humanitarian aid, while belittling its operations and resilience against Israeli aggression.

In addition to supporting Israel’s military actions, the activities of these operatives heavily focus on promoting UAE aid and attempting to improve the image of a regime tainted by its normalization with Israel.

Despite growing domestic criticism of Abu Dhabi’s support for normalization with Israel, the UAE has continued its media and political efforts to vilify the Palestinian resistance. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defense, Interior, and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federal National Council and a prominent advocate of UAE-Israel normalization, has been vocal against the Palestinian resistance, particularly Hamas.

Al Naimi, in a press conference organized by the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), claimed that normalization agreements are crucial for the future and dismissed concerns over Israel’s war on Gaza. He argued that these agreements represent a vision for regional transformation and emphasized the permanence of Israel in the region.

Al Naimi has also expressed a desire to reform the education system to align with normalization efforts, previously proposing curriculum changes to counter what he described as “Islamic extremism.”

Addressing protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, Al Naimi urged peace advocates globally to confront hate speech seen in demonstrations. Regarding the recent Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa by the Palestinian resistance, he denounced the attacks by Hamas and differentiated between the resistance and the Palestinian people.

Al Naimi, closely linked to Abu Dhabi’s decision-making circles, is also involved in promoting anti-Islamic narratives in Europe through his role at the “Hedayah” Center for Combating Extremism, which has ties to European extremists advocating for the expulsion of Muslims from Europe.

Since signing a normalization agreement with Israel in September 2020, the UAE has continued to engage in various cooperation agreements with Tel Aviv while failing to take substantial diplomatic actions beyond issuing condemnations of Israeli actions in Gaza.