It has now been reported that the UAE has warned Israel that applying sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria is a “red line” that would end regional integration.
Israel’s “red line” is preventing its enemies from murdering its citizens. Just yesterday morning, two terrorists from near Ramallah, an area under Palestinian Authority control (not Hamas-run Gaza), attacked a bus in Jerusalem, killing innocent Jews and injuring many others.
Israel’s survival, sovereignty, and Jewish destiny are not up for negotiation.
The Abraham Accords were not built on Israel surrendering its land or legitimacy. They were built on strength, on Arab Muslim leaders realizing that Israel isn’t going anywhere, that we are the most potent force for stability in the Middle East, protecting them as well. That strength is precisely what made normalization possible, and it’s the only thing that will sustain it.
Soon after the Abraham Accords were signed, I interviewed an expert on Islam and the Middle East, Dr. Mordechai Kedar, about the groundbreaking normalization agreement. He told me something unforgettable: “Any agreement in the Arab Muslim Middle East is like sand in the desert; it all depends upon the direction of the wind.”
In other words, every agreement in this region is temporary. Nobody should be surprised, then, that the UAE is making such a threat.
But here’s the truth that the UAE and others don’t understand: a majority of Israelis today know that sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, the Biblical heartland of our people, is far more critical for our long-term security than the Abraham Accords. October 7th woke up many Israelis to finally realize that the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are protecting all of Israel. The UAE’s is an empty threat. Relations with Israel help them more than they help us. The empty threat is likely to be diplomatic bluster, with little to no genuine impact on ties with Israel after we finally apply sovereignty.
Who would take control in Judea and Samaria if Israel doesn’t? The Palestinian Authority. A corrupt, terror-supporting entity that rewards terrorists based on how many Jews they murder, while abandoning its own people in poverty and misery. The PA doesn’t build for its people, doesn’t create jobs, doesn’t provide hope. It funds terror and glorifies death in order to destroy Israel, just like Hamas, just with a different strategy. The UAE understands that this is not a viable alternative.
October 7th was the wakeup call for the majority of Israelis. A majority of Israelis are ready to do what we must to protect their own 10 million citizens.
Where were the UAE’s “red lines” when Hamas butchered, raped, and kidnapped Jews on October 7th? Where were the “red lines” when Hezbollah fired tens of thousands of rockets into northern Israel, or when Iran armed and directed terror proxies across the region to destroy us?
Sovereignty is not aggression; it is justice. It is necessary for Israel’s survival. It is correcting the historic mistake of treating Judea and Samaria, the cradle of Jewish civilization, as “disputed” instead of the heart of our homeland. It is precisely by standing firm in that truth that we will secure peace.
The Abraham Accords succeeded because Israel projected strength, not weakness. If Israel backs down now in fear of “offending” our neighbors, that will embolden our enemies and undermine the very foundation of regional peace. The only way forward, the only way peace ever lasts in this region, is through clarity, sovereignty, and Jewish pride.
Israel is not the obstacle to peace. The Iranian Axis of Evil and the Qatari/Turkish Sunni Axis of Evil and their jihadi agenda are the obstacles to peace. Appeasement to those enemies is an obstacle to peace. The disengagement from Gaza proved that surrendering Jewish land only fuels terror and war. We will not make that mistake again in Judea and Samaria.
While the UAE may feel that it needs to put out particular messages to “make noise” and appease its neighbors, thereby protecting its alliances.
The Jewish people did not return to their ancestral homeland after 2,000 years of exile, persecution, and genocide to wait for the approval of Arab monarchs or Western diplomats on policy.
We are here to stay. We will build. We will apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. We will continue to be the strongest ally of any nation in the region that truly seeks peace, stability, and freedom.
The future of the Middle East will not be decided by ultimatums from Abu Dhabi or from Washington, but rather by Israel’s faith, resilience, and determination to live as a free people in our God-given land, which means sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
Avi Abelow is the host of the Pulse of Israel daily video/podcast and the CEO of 12Tribe Films Foundation.
