In a news conference on Thursday, the Health Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mai Alkaila, said that the PA has rejected the COVID-19 aid sent by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) via an Etihad flight to Israel on Tuesday, citing non-coordination with the PA as the primary reason. “We are a sovereign authority. Coordination must be directly with us,” Alkaila said.
The flight between UAE and Israel marked a new diplomatic moment between the two countries, who do not share formal diplomatic relations. Several Israeli news outlets reported that the coordination for the flight took place between the UAE government, the Israeli foreign ministry, and the UN World Food Programme.
Sources from the Palestinian government believe that coordinating assistance with Israeli authorities rather than the PA constitutes as a cover for “normalizing” Arab ties with the Jewish state, which Palestine strongly opposes. Palestinians and their supporters believe that adding diplomatic pressure on Israel, especially from Arab states, is an essential tool in their efforts to end the occupation of Palestinian territories and ending gross human rights violations.
There are many rumours of back-channel clandestine talks between Israel and the UAE over their mutual enmity towards Iran. There have been a few unofficial visits from authorities to the Emirates, and Israel was also supposed to participate in Dubai’s much-awaited World Expo. Most recently, Israeli media reported that Abu Dhabi had offered to evacuate Israeli citizens who were stranded in Morocco due to the coronavirus pandemic. That being said, earlier this month, UAE’s Foreign Minister Dr. Anwar Gargash slammed Israel’s plans to unilaterally annex the West Bank, stating that it is a dangerous development that undermines international efforts towards a peace process.
Nevertheless, suspicion among officials in the PA of growing cooperation between the Gulf state and Israel has prompted it to reject aid for diplomatic reasons even though it requires the assistance to cope with the pandemic. Simultaneously, on Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health received its second batch of medical aid from Saudi Arabia, which was accepted.
Image Source: Daily Sabah
Palestine Rejects Medical Aid Sent by UAE via Israel
May 22, 2020
