By James M. Dorsey

United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed is manoeuvring to replace Qatar as the main Gulf player in post-war Gaza with the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Messrs. Bin Zayed and Netanyahu see humanitarian aid provided by the Emirates and the prospect of UAE-funded post-war reconstruction as a way to marginalise Hamas and drive a wedge between the group’s leadership and Hamas-appointed civil administrators.

Please read further, listen to the podcast, or watch the video at https://jamesmdorsey.substack.com/p/the-uae-backed-by-israel-targets

By James M. Dorsey

is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.