Ali Al Nuaimi, Senior Adviser to the prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammad Bin Zayed

In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Ali Al-Nuaimi, senior adviser to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed, denounced the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.

During an interview with "Israel Today", Nuaimi expressed that "One of the biggest errors in this narrative, which I saw repeated over and over in the media, was the way they speak about [the] Gaza [Strip] as if it's occupied by the Israelis. It's not: It's controlled by Hamas."

"It is time to liberate Gaza, which was hijacked by Hamas to serve Iranian goals," Al-Nuaimi said in an interview marking the one-year anniversary of the normalization of Emirati-Israeli relations, adding that "the Palestinian people in Gaza are suffering because of Hamas, not because of the Israelis."

He discussed the international sentiment surrounding the crimes of the Israeli occupation during Seif Al Quds battle, which sparked worldwide outrage, with thousands demonstrating on the ground and using electronic campaigns on social media, stating that "We also have to fight the war of propaganda – one that the Israelis lost in this last round of fighting between Israel and Hamas. I saw narratives coming from not only the Middle East but the West too, which represented a shift."

After questioning him on the harsh criticism directed at "Israel" on social media in the Emirates, Al-Nuaimi stressed that "many of us condemned Hamas", justifying "in Israel, too, there were people who opposed the war, so that is not an indication, but rather says what some of the people in the Emirates think. It's hard to overcome history, but we want to open people's eyes and show them things they haven't seen over the last 40 or 50 years."

The Israeli publication expressed admiration for Al-Nuaimi's responses, commenting that "these brave responses were given by a senior official in an Arab country."

Ariel Kahana, the journalist who conducted the interview, divulged that he previously met Al-Nuaimi a year ago, as Kahana was one of the Israeli journalists accompanying the first Israeli delegations to the UAE on August 31, two weeks after former US President Donald Trump announced the UAE-"Israel" agreement to establish relations.

Al-Nuaimi: Iran wants to be a world power

Answering the question of how to treat Iran, the adviser responded by expressing concern that the international community does not speak in "one voice on Iran", detailing that "when we speak with our European friends about the invasiveness and aggression of Iran in Arab states, we hear that they 'understand our concerns.' But we don't need someone to understand our concerns, rather we need someone to act according to international law and respond to those violating other countries' sovereignty."

Concerning the UAE'S opinion of the US and Iran returning to a nuclear agreement, Al-Nuaimi expressed that returning to the nuclear agreement as it used to be would not solve the problems, accusing Iran that it "never honored the agreement or the commitments, in any respect."

Al Nuaimi: There is no "going back" on UAE-Israeli relations

Bin Zayed's adviser remarked of his country's connection with the Israeli occupation, "the ties being forged between us are not political or just between governments. These are comprehensive ties in every respect. This is a normal relationship that is growing. "

"There is discussion and dialogue, and I know the media will paint it as a crisis. But it isn't," he said of the UAE'S position on Israel's revision of the gas transfer arrangement from the Emirates to Europe via "Israel".

He reassured the journalist that "a disagreement on one issue will degrade ties. This is not the case."