Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Washington Yousef Al Otaiba has published an article in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot in which he calls on Israel to refrain from applying sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
"Annexation would, without doubt, have the effect of immediately disrupting all Israel's security, economic, and cultural ties with the Arab world," Al Otaiba writes, "ties that had been improving. In the United Arab Emirates, as well as in a large part of the Arab world, we prefer to believe that Israel represents an opportunity, not an enemy. We are all confronting a large number of shared dangers, and there is tremendous potential for warmer ties between us. However, a decision by Israel to go forward with annexation would be a clear and unmistakable sign that she does not see matters in the same light."