The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued its strongest warning yet to Israel and the United States, cautioning that any Israeli annexation of territory in the occupied West Bank would constitute a "red line" and threaten to unravel the Abraham Accords—one of the most significant diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East in recent years. The warning, delivered on September 3, 2025, comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government holds internal discussions about potential annexations in response to a wave of international recognition for Palestinian statehood.
According to Axios, the UAE’s message was delivered directly to the Trump administration, which brokered the Abraham Accords in 2020. The Emiratis made it clear that if Israel proceeds with annexing large portions of the West Bank, the landmark normalization agreement between Israel and several Arab states could be at risk. "These plans, if carried out, will do substantial damage to the UAE-Israel relationship. And they will irreparably damage whatever remains of the vision of regional integration. In many ways, the choice before Israel right now is annexation or integration," a senior Emirati official told Axios.
The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, marked the first time in 26 years that an Arab country had normalized relations with Israel. The UAE, followed by Bahrain and Morocco, opened the door for new trade, defense, and tourism ties with Israel. For the UAE, the agreement was conditioned on Israel suspending its plans to annex parts of the West Bank—a move Abu Dhabi framed as a step toward supporting Palestinian statehood. "From the very beginning, we viewed the Accords as a way to enable our continued support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspiration for an independent state. That was our position in 2020, and it remains our position today," Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs at the UAE’s foreign ministry, told CNN.
The current crisis was triggered by renewed calls from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who urged Netanyahu to convene a cabinet meeting to approve the extension of Israeli control over the West Bank. Smotrich’s push came as several Western nations, including France, Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly this month. Netanyahu, according to two Israeli officials cited by CNN, is weighing various annexation options, from a limited takeover of Jewish settlements to a broader annexation of Area C, which comprises 60% of the West Bank. One of the main options reportedly under consideration is annexing the Jordan Valley—a move that would further encircle Palestinian population centers and, critics argue, undermine the viability of a contiguous Palestinian state.
The UAE’s response has been both public and private. Emirati officials have communicated their concerns to both the White House and the Netanyahu government over the past two weeks, warning that annexation would severely undermine the regional vision for peace and integration. "Annexation in the West Bank would constitute a red line for the UAE," Nusseibeh said in a statement. "It would severely undermine the vision and spirit of (the Abraham) Accords, end the pursuit of regional integration, and would alter the widely-shared consensus on what the trajectory of this conflict should be – two states living side by side in peace, prosperity, and security."
While Israeli officials argue that the UAE’s original condition against annexation was time-bound and has since expired, the Emiratis maintain that annexation would violate the spirit of the accords. The stakes are high—not just for Israel and the Palestinians, but for the broader U.S. foreign policy legacy in the region. As Axios reported, President Trump blocked Israeli annexation plans twice during his first term, but has yet to take a public position on the current proposals. Two Israeli officials claimed Secretary of State Marco Rubio has privately signaled he does not oppose West Bank annexations, suggesting the Trump administration might not stand in the way this time. However, at least one senior official, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, believes such a move would complicate U.S. efforts to work with the Arab world on a post-war plan for Gaza and undermine the prospects of a Saudi-Israeli peace deal.
The timing of the UAE’s warning is particularly significant. It comes just ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, raising fresh doubts about the durability of the normalization agreement. Since the start of the Gaza war nearly two years ago, the UAE has maintained relations with Israel, coordinated humanitarian aid into Gaza, and continued to view the accords as beneficial for Palestinians. Nevertheless, the latest developments have prompted Abu Dhabi to issue its sharpest rebuke yet. "The proposals to annex parts of the West Bank, reportedly under discussion in the Israeli government, is part of an effort that would, in the words of an Israeli minister, ‘bury the idea of a Palestinian state,’" Nusseibeh said, referencing recent comments by Smotrich.
The UAE’s stance has not gone unnoticed in Washington or Jerusalem. According to Axios, Emirati officials have declined to comment on the specifics of their private discussions but have not denied the deep concern and anger in Abu Dhabi over Israel’s plans. The senior Emirati official stopped short of threatening to revoke the UAE’s peace agreement with Israel but did not take that possibility off the table. Annexations, the official said, would be "a death knell for the two-State solution."
The Trump administration, for its part, has not issued an official response. The White House and the State Department declined to comment when contacted by Axios. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rubio is expected to visit the region soon and participate in a politically sensitive event organized by a settler group in East Jerusalem, close to the al-Aqsa mosque. Rubio has already spearheaded efforts to bar Palestinian officials from attending the upcoming UN General Assembly, part of a broader string of moves against the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu is expected to hold another meeting on the annexation plan on Thursday, September 4, 2025, with further consultations planned in Miami and Washington later in the week. His confidant, Ron Dermer, will travel to both cities for talks with Rubio and Witkoff, signaling the high stakes and ongoing diplomatic maneuvering behind the scenes.
As the region braces for potentially dramatic developments, the UAE’s warning stands as a stark reminder of the fragile balance underpinning recent diplomatic gains. With the future of the Abraham Accords and the broader regional peace process hanging in the balance, all eyes are now on Washington, Jerusalem, and Abu Dhabi to see whether diplomacy or division will prevail.