UAE halts cooperation with Israel over killing of aid workers
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has cut off diplomatic coordination with Israel in response to the killing of seven aid workers by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in Gaza.
Israeli news outlet i24News reported that Emirati officials confirmed the news, with officials describing ties between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi as the "darkest day" in relations between the two countries.
i24NEWS has learned that the Emirati foreign ministry has 'expressed outrage' with the Israeli ambassador Amir Hayek over the incident.
Efforts to address the crisis are underway, with Israel's Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, engaging in a phone call with his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed. Additionally, Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Yaakov Blitshtein, met with Ambassador Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Khaja in an attempt to find a resolution.
Ambassador Al-Khaja described the current state of affairs as "the darkest day in the relations between the countries."
Many in the international community have expressed outrage following the killing of the seven aid workers, with Spain calling Israel's justification for the killing insufficient and unacceptable.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the killing of the workers was "unintentional”. But many have pointed out that Israel has taken no steps to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel since it launched its brutal war on Gaza.
Today, the death toll from Israel's relentless and merciless campaign has reached over 33,000.
Despite the uproar and the outpouring of condemnation, the international community has failed to press Israel to end the devastating war that has been going on since October 7.
In response, Israel appears determined to continue the war in the midst of a humanitarian disaster marked by the spread of disease and an alarming famine that is killing civilians throughout the besieged enclave.
The UAE is part of the countries that signed the US-brokered Abraham Accord deals to normalise ties with Israel in September 2020.
"It did [UAE] benefits from the accords, with 450,000 Israelis visiting the UAE between January 2021 and January 2023 and Israeli companies doing business in the Gulf country as well," Al Jazeera reported last year.