Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are in a diplomatic spat over the Emirates’ establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he may sever ties with the UAE in opposition to its normalization with Israel.
“We may either suspend diplomatic ties or recall our ambassador because we stand with the Palestinian people. We have not let Palestine be defeated,” said Erdogan on Friday, according to the pro-government Daily Sabah news outlet.
Turkey has full relations with Israel.
Turkey and the UAE have disagreed on several issues this year.
On Thursday, the United States, UAE and Israel announced that the UAE and Israel would normalize relations in exchange for Israel halting its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said the cessation was only temporary.
Netanyahu promised for months to begin incorporating Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley into Israel on July 1, but his government has yet to do so.
The UAE and Israel have grown closer in recent years, as has Israel and Saudi Arabia, but the UAE opposes annexation.❐
