(Jerusalem, Israel) — This is the huge story here in Israel today.

It confirms what I reported in my column in The Jerusalem Post last week, that if Israel moves forward with plans to annex large swaths of the West Bank this summer this will severely damage and possibly destroy the rapidly warming ties between Israel and the Gulf States.

The big question now is: How will Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz respond?

Here is the short video of the UAE Ambassador speaking in English to Israelis.

Here is the English version of the op-ed that was published in Hebrew by Yediot Aharonot, that everyone is talking about today. I encourage you to read it in full.

• Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba: Annexation will be a serious setback for better relations with the Arab world — A unilateral and illegal seizure of Palestinian land defies the international consensus on the Palestinian right to self-determination, will ignite violence and send shock waves around the region, especially in Jordan whose stability is often taken particularly Israel. (Ynet News)

Here are just two of the front-page news stories in Israel covering these developments:

• UAE: Annexation could destroy Israeli normalization with Arab world: In an effort to directly reach out to Israelis, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the U.S., Yousef al-Otaiba, published an opinion piece in the largest Hebrew daily, Yediot Aharonot. (Jerusalem Post)
• In first-ever op-ed for Israeli paper, UAE diplomat warns against annexation: Yousef al-Otaiba says much of Arab world wants to believe Israel ‘is an opportunity, not an enemy,’ but the ‘great potential of warmer ties’ is threatened by Netanyahu’s plans (Times of Israel)

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