UAE warns Israel’s annexation of occupied West Bank ‘red line,’ threatens ‘regional integration’
"Annexation would be a red line for my government, and that means there can be no lasting peace. It would foreclose the idea of regional integration and be the death knell of the two-state solution," Emirati Special Envoy Lana Nusseibeh told The Times of Israel news outlet.
- Economy
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 07:31 | 03 September 2025
The United Arab Emirates warned Wednesday that Israel's annexation of the occupied West Bank would cross a "red line," and end "the vision of regional integration."
"Annexation would be a red line for my government, and that means there can be no lasting peace," Emirati Special Envoy Lana Nusseibeh told The Times of Israel news outlet.
"It would foreclose the idea of regional integration and be the death knell of the two-state solution," she said.
In 2020, the UAE signed US-sponsored agreements with Israel to normalize their relations. Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco also followed suit.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said early Wednesday that Israel plans to annex 82% of the occupied West Bank to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"Israeli sovereignty will be applied to 82% of the territory," Smotrich, the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party, told a press conference in Jerusalem.
The far-right minister called the West Bank annexation "a preventative step" against moves by many countries to recognize Palestinian statehood.
Several countries, including Belgium, France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood during the upcoming meetings of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 8-23, joining 147 nations that already do.
On Aug. 20, Israel approved a major settlement project, called E1, which aims to split the occupied West Bank into two parts, cutting off the northern cities of Ramallah and Nablus from Bethlehem and Hebron in the south and isolating East Jerusalem.
The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.