In the Midst of an Election, Netanyahu Shows Up at Abu Dhabi

Elections in America and Israel are painting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Sunday visit to Abu Dhabi in political palates. We’re far from shocked that politics takes place in the run-up to Israel’s October 27 vote. With the Iranian regime’s aggression against Arab Gulf states, though, there is much more to this hastened trip than meets the eye. As the Islamic Republic lashes out, a tightened regional cooperation is in order.The United Arab Emirates’ state news agency, WAM, confirmed yesterday that Mr. Netanyahu met with Emir Mohammed bin Zayed on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations. When the prime minister’s office reported the meeting a day earlier, the press smelled political maneuvering. In recent days, Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents seized on reports that the premier was told in advance of October 7, 2023 of Hamas’s plans for an attack. Hotly denied by Mr. Netanyahu, his opponents contend, for one, that the Abu Dhabi emir, known as MbZ, personally warned the premier of Hamas’s intentions. The Associated Press cites an unidentified source with “firsthand information” of the Sunday meeting, who said that Mr. Netanyahu’s purpose was to ask the emir to publicly deny the warning. Ask? Opponents of Mr. Netanyahu in the Israeli press claim that he begged for such a denial. We weren’t invited to the meeting, not even as a fly on the wall, so we are unable to verify such accounts. Yet we’ve noticed that Gulf states are attacked by Iran while Israel isn’t. Israel reportedly supplied anti-missile systems and operators to the UAE. True, Arab populations are incensed over the Gaza war. Yet Gulf leaders certainly see the benefits in cooperating with Israel. So could the meeting at Abu Dhabi have been more than a mere political stunt?The Gulf is far from the only place that quietly seeks Israeli military aid. A plane carrying the UAE and Saudi-backed Libyan leader, General Khalifa Haftar, was observed landing at Abu Dhabi shortly after Mr. Netanyahu arrived there Sunday. According to Israel’s Channel 14 television, as many as ten countries participated in the UAE powwow on Sunday — including Saudi Arabia and others that are yet to accede to the Abraham Accords.Aggression against Iran by Arab allies is intensifying as Iran is cornered economically. Tehran has convinced its Houthi proxies to attack Saudi Arabia and threaten traffic in the Red Sea. The Abu Dhabi meeting “followed a Saudi request for Israeli assistance” to fend off Houthis attacks, a veteran Arab world watcher, Yoni Ben Menachem, writes, citing unidentified Israeli security officials. Publicly, though, the Saudis often condemn Israel. The Emiratis, in contrast, are a stellar Israeli ally, even as they seek Arab street creds. To balance out these factors, the UAE released no photo of Mr. Netanyahu, but acknowledged his visit. Gulf potentates can stay above the fray, while Israeli counterparts must fight to win elections. Abu Dhabi, smartly, is careful not to anger Mr. Netanayahu’s opponents, even as the emir knows that the Israeli premier might yet pull an election victory. Iran, in contrast, might interfere in the political process. “There are signs that leading up to the elections, our enemies will try to attack us,” Mr. Netanyahyu said today. Fears of major attacks, designed to interfere in Israel’s election or America’s midterms, keep security officials in Washington and Jerusalem up at night. Coordination in the region needs tightening. The Sunday UAE parley was a good start.

In the Midst of an Election, Netanyahu Shows Up at Abu Dhabi

In the Midst of an Election, Netanyahu Shows Up at Abu Dhabi

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