UAE Plays Openly: Investments and Normalization Matter More than Palestine

As Israel escalates its genocidal war in Gaza and its comprehensive aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories, the UAE is playing its cards openly, growing closer to President Donald Trump’s administration through massive investments and supporting normalization with Israel.

The Emirati regime has clearly staked its bet on artificial intelligence to strengthen its relations with the Trump administration, culminating in a massive $25 billion financial deal with Washington.

This deal came amid a growing Emirati rapprochement with Israel and pressure on the Trump administration to disrupt Gaza’s reconstruction efforts, while supporting the continuation of the genocide until Palestinian resistance is entirely crushed.

American and Egyptian officials have revealed that the UAE is pressuring President Trump’s administration to reject the post-war Gaza plan drafted by Egypt and approved by the Arab League.

According to the British website Middle East Eye, the UAE is exploiting its unprecedented influence over the White House during the Trump era to criticize the Arab plan, dismissing it as unfeasible and accusing Cairo of granting too much power to the Palestinian movement Hamas.

As the division deepens, U.S. diplomats fear that this rift could harm American interests in the region. This reflects an increasing Arab rivalry over who will take charge of Gaza’s future governance and reconstruction, along with differing views on the level of influence Hamas should retain there.

The Emirati pressure on Egypt presents a dilemma, as both Egypt and the UAE widely support the same Palestinian decision-maker in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, the exiled former Fatah official.

An American official stated, “The UAE cannot be the only country opposing the Arab League’s plan, which had been agreed upon, yet it strongly rejects it alongside the Trump administration.”

An American official and an Egyptian official familiar with the matter said that the UAE’s powerful ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba, is exerting pressure on Trump’s inner circle and U.S. lawmakers to push Egypt into accepting forcibly displaced Palestinians.

Earlier, Al Otaiba had stated that he sees “no alternative” to Trump’s earlier call for the forced displacement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.

Hamas is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt, and the UAE has spent years attempting to eradicate the group across the Middle East.

The Egyptian government, led by the military, has crushed the Muslim Brotherhood but allowed some degree of freedom of movement for Hamas officials. Egypt’s intelligence services have long-standing relations with Hamas members, including the Qassam Brigades, which Egypt used to mediate ceasefires in Gaza.

The UAE criticized the Egyptian plan for Gaza, arguing that it did not specify how to disarm Hamas and remove it from Gaza.

Egyptian officials argue that the plan clearly outlines that the Palestinian Authority will take over governance. The plan calls for the formation of a security force in Gaza trained by Jordan and Egypt, and it leaves the door open for deploying UN peacekeeping forces in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Hamas has expressed acceptance of the plan, but regional diplomats say Israel opposes internationalizing the conflict in this way.

The U.S. mediated a ceasefire in Gaza in January, but it collapsed as Israeli occupation forces resumed military attacks on the region.

The U.S. proposed a plan for Hamas to release 27 living prisoners in Gaza in exchange for extending the temporary ceasefire. However, Hamas insisted on a permanent ceasefire, as outlined in the January agreement.

The Trump administration has announced its support for Israel to return to war in Gaza. U.S. diplomacy suffered a severe setback after Adam Bohler, Trump’s former hostage affairs nominee, met directly with Hamas officials in Doha.

The White House stated that Bohler met with Hamas to negotiate the release of one remaining U.S. hostage, but Bohler publicly declared that he discussed a ceasefire lasting between five and ten years, which would see the group abandon its political stance and guarantee that the U.S. and its Arab allies would disarm Gaza.

These remarks, along with Bohler’s statement to CNN that he did not rule out future meetings with Hamas, sparked outrage from the Israeli government and pro-Israel U.S. lawmakers.

Egyptian and American officials said the meeting also angered the UAE. Senior Trump advisers were initially hesitant about the Arab League’s post-war Gaza plan.

During his visit to the region last March, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, did not support the plan but described it as “the foundation for reconstruction efforts.”

Some American and Egyptian officials believe that the UAE’s campaign has already impacted U.S.-Egyptian relations, with the U.S. warning Egypt that military aid will be cut in 2026, according to both Egyptian and American officials.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, based in London, was the first to report U.S. warnings that the White House intends to cut military aid to Egypt last week.

The American official said Egypt was informed that the U.S. is reevaluating its military assistance, but it was not directly told that the future reduction is a trade-off for Egypt’s acceptance of the forced displacement of Palestinians.

The Trump administration is reducing foreign aid globally. Egypt and Israel received exemptions from a 90-day freeze on foreign aid. Other Arab countries, such as Lebanon, have also received exceptions in recent weeks.

Egypt receives $1.3 billion in annual military aid. The U.S. has already conditioned $300 million of this aid to support human rights issues.

U.S. influence over Egypt has declined since the peace treaty with Israel. In 1978, U.S. aid accounted for six percent of Egypt’s GDP. Today, it has dropped to less than half a percent, and it is unclear whether the Trump administration sees the aid as an asset worth maintaining.

Among the complexities of the conflict is that both Egypt and the UAE view Dahlan as a key mediator in Gaza after the war.

When the Arab League approved the plan drafted by Egypt, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned former exiled Fatah officials.

This was widely seen as a signal to Dahlan, who had been Fatah’s Gaza commander before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. Dahlan moved to the UAE after his falling-out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank.

The UAE is pushing for Dahlan to oversee a Gaza ruling committee, and later replace the aging Abbas as the head of the Palestinian Authority.

Complicating matters, the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration continues to pressure Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to accept the forcibly displaced Palestinians.

Peter Pham, a likely candidate for Trump’s Africa affairs nominee at the State Department, is a strong supporter of UAE and Somaliland’s independence.

The UAE is the dominant political power in Somaliland, where it trains security forces and controls the main port through its state-owned company, DP World.

Trump’s disregard for Egypt’s Gaza plan has angered professional U.S. diplomats, who watched as France, Germany, Italy, and the UK endorsed the framework.

American diplomats said the White House ignored warnings from professional officials not to pressure Egypt into accepting forcibly displaced Palestinians.