Profits or Palestine? UAE-Israel deals likely to continue quietly

The United Arab Emirates has offered to mediate between Israel and Palestine, and behind the scenes are billions of dollars in potential business deals between the UAE and Israel.

As people in Gaza begin the monumental task of rebuilding after 11 days of bombardment by the Israeli military killed at least 254 Palestinians and damaged or destroyed 80,000 people’s homes, another diplomatic clean-up seems to be under way. Israel’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates attended the opening of the Arabian Peninsula’s first permanent exhibition dedicated to victims of the Holocaust in Dubai on Wednesday, saying: “What we see here is the exact opposite of what we see in Gaza … What we see here in the whole normalisation process is a departure from the past.” The UAE’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, stepped forward and offered to mediate talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians in a call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the state-owned Emirates News Agency reported on Sunday.