Israel denies reports that UAE plans to suspend some defense deals over government action

Israeli officials denied Channel 12’s report that the United Arab Emirates intends to suspend purchases of certain defense products from Jerusalem due to some actions and statements by the current government.

According to the report, which did not provide a source, the UAE singled out far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inflammatory statements and actions, as well as recent violence in the West Bank and violent settler atrocities in Huwara.

The network quoted UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as saying, “Until we are sure that Prime Minister Netanyahu has a government that he can control, we cannot cooperate.”

The prime minister’s office strongly denied it, calling the report “baseless” and saying Israel and the UAE had been engaged in “fruitful diplomatic engagement … including today”.

The foreign ministry issued a similar statement, saying the relationship between the two countries was “strong”.

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