UAE lining up with Israel and US in seeking Palestinian reform

UAE Challenges Palestinian Authority’s Budget and Leadership

The United Arab Emirates, a staunch critic of the Palestinian Authority at the annual Arab League summit in Bahrain, is refusing to support a significant budget until Ramallah makes major changes, such as ending terrorist financing and incitement.

“In this way, the Emirates aligns itself with the American position of striving for a Palestinian Authority,” a top Arab diplomat told Israel’s news service.

Behind the scenes, tensions have risen after Emirates blocked a proposed resolution to allocate $100 million a month to the PA, amid concerns about corruption and incompetent leadership. Emiratis demanded PA financial transparency and measures to prevent corruption in the PA, angering Palestinian representatives.

“The Emiratis practically emptied the budget initiative of any content of the Palestinian Authority,” a diplomatic source explained to TPS-IL. “Emirati refusal to budget corruption authority should surprise no one.”

The UAE’s stance challenging the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas has gained support from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who recognizes PA authority in post-war Gaza. However, the Palestinians have not received full UN support. The UN has granted membership. Following the US veto on the security resolution, the PA continues to boycott the US and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

“Emirates has decided to align itself with the Biden administration, which reiterates that a new and reformed Palestinian Authority can only be a partner in the eyes of the Americans the day after the war in the Gaza Strip,” the source said. TPS-IL.

“The Emiratis have decided to teach the Palestinian Authority a lesson and demand a long series of reforms that will make it a completely different entity from the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority will only be kosher when it is not Palestinian. From the Emirates’ point of view,” he joked.

The United Arab Emirates supports Abbas’s rival, Mohammed Dahlan. In conversations with several Arab sources, Dahlan’s name comes up again and again as someone who could win their support in managing Gaza post-war.

Dahlan, once a high-ranking figure within Fatah, was the PA’s “strong man” in Gaza when Hamas violently seized control of the Strip in 2007. But as Dahlan regained influence within Fatah, he clashed with Abbas and was expelled from the party. In 2011. He was later put on trial in Ramallah on corruption charges, which Dahlan denies.

TPS-IL is aware that during the recent conference of Arab ambassadors on Zoom in April, participants voiced their opposition to Abbas’s regime. The Palestinians have not held national elections since 2005, when Abbas, now 19, was given a four-year term. Since then, Abbas has canceled several attempted elections, most recently in 2021, amid Fatah-Hamas disagreements.

The U.S. has been pressing Abbas to reform the PA as a frontrunner to assume responsibility for the administration and reconstruction of Gaza.

Reforms include reducing the PA’s bloated and inefficient bureaucracy, replacing ambassadors representing the PA abroad, and launching an internal self-investigation mechanism within the Palestinian Authority.

Ramallah hopes to satisfy US demands through a Palestinian technocratic government that includes “softcore” Hamas members and covert “pay-to-kill” financing.

However, no one in Ramallah believes Abbas will see reforms. A March survey by the Palestinian Policy and Analysis Research Center found that 81% of Palestinians polled in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza were dissatisfied with Abbas’s leadership and 84% said he should step down.

At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in an October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli communities near the Gaza border. Of the remaining 132 hostages, 30 are believed to be dead.