UAE summons Israeli ambassador after Doha attack: Report
The United Arab Emirates has called in Israel’s ambassador to the country, Yossi Shelley, for a formal rebuke after Israel’s attack targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, reports Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.
There was no immediate official comment from the UAE and Israel.
Back in 2020, the UAE became the first Gulf state to normalise ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
Arab-Islamic summit may lead to ‘concrete measures’ against Israel
An emergency Arab-Islamic summit hosted in Qatar early next week could be a “gamechanger” for new measures against Israel, Luciano Zaccara, Middle East political analyst, has told Al Jazeera.
The Doha meeting is slated for Sunday and Monday and could result in joint action over security, technology or tourism, Zaccara said.
Already, the UAE has banned Israel from joining a Dubai defence expo scheduled for November, in response to the attack.
“There are very strong signals that in next week’s summit we will hear something more than declarations and condemnations,” Zaccara added. “We will see at least some measures that can be taken at the diplomatic level … at least in terms of concrete measures.”
UAE confirms summoning of Israeli envoy to condemn ‘cowardly’ Doha attack
We now have a statement from the Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates confirming the summoning of an Israeli envoy in Abu Dhabi that we reported on earlier.
The move came as a formal rebuke of Israel’s attack against Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday.
“Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, summoned the Israeli Deputy Head of Mission in the United Arab Emirates, David Ohad Horsandi, to strongly condemn and denounce the blatant and cowardly Israeli attack that targeted the State of Qatar, as well as the hostile statements made by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Any aggression against a GCC member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework,” she added.
Leaders from the region and beyond have rallied around Qatar in the wake of the Israeli attack, with several – including the UAE president – visiting Doha to express their support.
