UAE exposed as secret buyer in huge arms deal with Israel

The report by Intelligence Online, published on Thursday, stated that the $ 2.3 billion deal between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv involves the delivery of advanced military systems over eight years. 

The outlets placed the agreement among a series of major arms exports by Israeli arms companies in recent years.

Elbit earlier announced the contract without naming the purchasing state or disclosing the systems involved.

The exposure of the UAE as Elbit’s mystery client comes amid mounting condemnation from human rights organizations over Israel’s genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip.

International organizations such as Oxfam have warned that the transfer of advanced military systems risks enabling serious violations of international law and further civilian harm.

The revelation comes after a quiet expansion of UAE-Israel cooperation maintained throughout Israel’s genocide in the blockaded Palestinian territory, including progress on a cross-regional transport corridor kept largely out of public view. 

Last month, Israeli media reported that construction of the so-called “Peace Railway,” designed to move goods from India through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to Haifa for onward export to Europe and the US, has already reached an advanced stage, with Emirati and Israeli authorities agreeing to establish a joint administration to manage the route.

In October, Israeli military firm Controp Precision Technologies opened its first UAE subsidiary in Abu Dhabi to produce, sell, and service Israeli electro-optical surveillance systems under Israeli oversight, further embedding the Emirati defense market into Israel’s arms industry.

The deepening relationship has also extended into the diplomatic sphere, as the UAE purchased land worth tens of millions of Israeli shekels (NIS) to construct its first permanent embassy in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories back in October.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, in late October briefed members of the world body’s General Assembly on how more than sixty governments, most importantly Western powers and several Arab states, have been enabling the Israeli regime’s “genocidal machinery” in Gaza.

MNA