Prominent Saudi academic accuses UAE of being Israel's 'trojan horse'

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics on X

Ahmed bin Othman al-Tuwaijri accused oil-rich Gulf nation of trying to weaken Saudi Arabia so it could emerge as a dominant regional power.

A prominent Saudi Arabian academic has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of throwing itself "into the arms of Zionism" and functioning as "Israel's Trojan horse in the Arab world" in order to weaken Saudi Arabia and emerge as a dominant regional power.

In a scathing column published on Thursday in the Saudi newspaper Al Jazirah, Ahmed bin Othman al-Tuwaijri accused leaders in the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi of being "blinded" by "hatred and jealousy" and of turning against the kingdom despite decades of Saudi support.

Tuwaijri, a former dean at King Saud University and a former Shura Council member, singled out the emirate of Abu Dhabi for criticism, saying it was pursuing "hostile plots under the guise of diplomacy" and was behind several attempts to destabilise the region.

The Shura Council is a consultative, legislative body that advises the king on laws, policies and governance, with echoes of the traditional Majlis in Arab society. 

Framing the emirate's actions as both ideological and existential threats, Tuwaijri said that the UAE, which is governed by Mohammed bin Zayed - a staunch opponent of political Islam - had collaborated with Israel to the detriment of Arab interests. Zayed is also the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

"They are trying to shift loyalty from Arab and Islamic solidarity toward external influence," Tuwaijri wrote.

"This is a betrayal of God, His Messenger, and the entire nation, and it cannot be ignored."

Tuwaijri alleged that these collusions included direct military and intelligence cooperation, support for Israeli operations in Gaza, and the use of Emirati military bases in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa to facilitate Israeli attacks on Palestinian "resistance groups".

Citing Yemen as a key example, he accused Abu Dhabi of sowing unrest by backing factions in the country's south that had deliberately challenged the internationally recognised government.

Last month, fighters aligned with the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) swept through southern and eastern Yemen, seizing cities, military bases, ports, border crossings, and oil infrastructure from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

The advance outraged Saudi Arabia, which on 30 December bombed an Emirati shipment in southern Yemen and criticised the UAE's role in backing the separatists.

Riyadh then launched strikes on the STC, and Saudi-backed forces subsequently advanced, with the separatists losing control across much of southern Yemen.