It is a first for a high-ranking Gulf dignitary, no country of which has official diplomatic relations with Israel. The column published in Hebrew in "one" of Yediot Aharonot by Yousef Al-Otaiba, the influential Emirati ambassador to the United States, is a coup in the midst of the hubbub of reactions to the project of annexation by the Hebrew State of a part of the West Bank, the 1er July. Pretending to raise his voice by landing in "Staunch defender of the Palestinian people", Yousef Al-Otaiba warns: annexation, a breach of international law which would condemn the two-state solution, "Will undoubtedly and immediately overthrow Israeli aspirations to forge stronger ties" with the Arab world and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
New on the form, the tribune is also on the bottom. It shatters several taboos of the official Arab discourse on Israel. On three occasions, the diplomat talks about "Standardization". This term, " “Tatbi”, in Arabic, remains a bad word ", tainted with a shameful connotation, recalls Ian Black, British historian and author ofEnemies and Neighbors: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017 (2017). Yousef Al-Otaiba also openly sweeps away the doctrine of the Arab League: the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Palestinian territories is no longer a prerequisite for getting closer to the Hebrew state. "He does not complain about the status quo of the occupation for fifty-three years, but warns that normalization between a Gulf state and Israel should not be taken for granted", continues the historian.
Pilot fish
It is not surprising that this sensitive and unprecedented communication operation was entrusted to Yousef Al-Otaiba. This 46-year-old diplomat, son of the Emirates' oil minister, is part of a small circle of overactive commoners, like Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, the boss of the Mubadala investment fund, who has the ear and the confidence of Mohammed Ben Zayed, known as "MBZ", the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and strong man of the monarchy.
In office for twelve years, the ambassador, who is as famous for his receptions, where All-Washington rushes, as for his propensity to enlist the services of lobbying firms, played a key role in the tightening ties between his country and the United States. It is largely thanks to him that the Emirates acquired the image of the ideal Arab ally, politically stable, liberal from the point of view of morals, with an efficient army and crates full of petrodollars. .
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