UAE Foreign Minister Holds Meeting with PLO Official to Address Gaza Concerns

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign minister met a senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official in Abu Dhabi to discuss international efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, as reported by the Emirati state news agency on Thursday. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Secretary General Hussein Sheikh to also discuss the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave. In the meeting, Sheikh Abdullah stressed the importance of prioritising negotiations towards a framework for a two-state peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, WAM reported. The UAE, established ties with Israel in 2020 under a US-brokered deal. Qatar has been mediating negotiations with Israel for the release of hostages and for a ceasefire. Qatar and Egypt mediated between Israel and Hamas in the late November truce during which Hamas released 110 women, children and foreigners it was holding in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and teenagers freed from Israeli jails. Abu Dhabi has condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and called on the Palestinian terrorist group to release hostages held in Gaza. The Gulf state has also used its non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to push for a ceasefire in the war.