The United Arab Emirates on Sunday criticized the attacks by the Hamas terrorist organization against Israeli towns as a "serious and grave escalation."
In a statement carried on the UAE’s official WAM news agency, the UAE Foreign Ministry said it “is appalled by reports that Israeli civilians have been abducted as hostages from their homes. Civilians on both sides must always have full protection under international humanitarian law and must never be a target of conflict.”
“The UAE expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and urges all diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional confrontation,” the statement added.
It also said that the UAE Foreign Ministry “deeply mourns the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives as a result of the outbreak of violence, and calls on both parties to de-escalate and avoid an expansion of the heinous violence with tragic consequences affecting civilian lives and facilities.”
“The UAE underscored that the international community needs to work together to prevent the violence risking wider instability and spillover, including the involvement by other groups.”
“The UAE reaffirmed that the international community must remain resolute in the face of these violent attempts to derail ongoing regional efforts aimed at dialogue, cooperation, and co-existence, and must not allow nihilistic destruction to overtake a region whose people have already suffered enough war and trauma,” the statement said.
“The Ministry stressed that the UAE remains in close contact with all regional and international partners to swiftly de-escalate the situation and restore calm in Israel and the OPT and a return to negotiations for a final settlement within the parameters of the two state solution for Palestinians and Israelis, who deserve to live in peace and dignity,” it concluded.
The UAE was one of four Arab nations to normalize relations with Israel in the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by the US in 2020.