Israel

"The normalisation of diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel has been touted as a great stride towards peace in the Middle East. While Israel and the Emirates have had an informal cooperative relationship for many years, the official establishment of diplomatic ties certainly goes a long way to spread regional acceptance of Israel, which should help ease tensions."

"However, there is another angle to this development that has not received much attention. The UAE has suffered a series of setbacks to their image in recent years; the escape and subsequent capture of Princess Latifa Al Maktoum, new revelations about the kidnapping of Princess Shamsa in the UK, the UAE’s role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, the escape and divorce proceedings by Princess Haya bint Hussein, and the child custody hearings in England that followed; together with a seemingly endless string of high profile cases of wrongful detentions and legal abuse of Westerners and other expats, have seriously damaged the UAE’s reputation globally." Radha Stirling