{"id":311902,"date":"2026-02-26T21:33:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/311902\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T21:33:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:33:07","slug":"uae-ambassador-hosts-ramadan-iftar-for-israeli-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/311902\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE ambassador hosts Ramadan iftar for Israeli officials"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja called for coexistence, defended the Abraham Accords, and warned that extremist groups seek to exploit the holy month to inflame tensions at a Ramadan<\/a> iftar hosted by the Emirati embassy on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Speaking before a crowd that included President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Al Khaja said Ramadan is meant to strengthen family and community ties, but argued that \u201cterrorist groups and forces of darkness\u201d try to turn the month into a tool for division.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret to say that the month of Ramadan in Israel is not like other places,\u201d he said, accusing extremists of attempting to \u201cignite tensions, spread division, and promote violence, oppression, and racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PresidentPresident Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar, and Emirati Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja at a\u00a0Ramadan\u00a0iftar hosted by the Emirati embassy in Tel Aviv on February 26, 2026. (credit: SHOOKA COHEN)<\/p>\n

Al Khaja also pointed to continuing violence inside Arab communities<\/a>, saying that \u201cviolence and killing continue in Arab cities and villages,\u201d and that efforts to build trust are being \u201csystematically obstructed.\u201d He urged what he called \u201ca responsible pause from all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UAE envoy framed peace with Israel as a strategic choice shaped by regional instability. \u201cThere is no alternative to peace,\u201d he said, adding that the UAE\u2019s approach was tied to the future of \u201cour region and our children,\u201d particularly amid rapid geopolitical change.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Al Khaja pushes for peace, bashes hate<\/p>\n

Al Khaja, who noted he has served in the role for more than five years, said the aim is to prevent the next generation from inheriting decades of conflict while still respecting the constraints earlier generations faced. He criticized what he described as the spread of conspiracy theories, hatred, and racism across the region, arguing that the UAE<\/a> has sought to prove \u201cthe impossible has no place in our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a nod to the UAE\u2019s founding ethos, he quoted the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan: \u201cNothing is everlasting at all, neither man nor wealth; what endures is the homeland and work.\u201d Al Khaja said the line captured the \u201cessence\u201d of the UAE\u2019s message, linking it to humanitarian giving and economic development.<\/p>\n

A central theme of the address focused on religion\u2019s role in public life. \u201cThe most dangerous thing that threatens our homelands is the politicization of religion or its weaponization,\u201d he said. \u201cReligion is for God, the homeland is for all, and terrorism has no religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al Khaja also defended the Abraham Accords, saying predictions of their collapse after the October 7 massacre did not materialize. \u201cPeace endured, because it is based on common interests and mutual respect,\u201d he said, and because it proved stronger than \u201cthe advocates of division.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the scene at the event as a sign of what normalization<\/a> can look like in practice. \u201cThanks to this peace, I can today, as an Emirati Arab Muslim, be among you in the State of Israel,\u201d he said, calling it an opportunity to break the fast \u201cunder one roof\u201d alongside Jews, Muslims, and Christians.<\/p>\n

Al Khaja ended by expressing hope that the gathering would help \u201cbring hearts closer,\u201d \u201cheal wounds,\u201d and keep attention on shared interests, while praying for \u201csecurity and peace\u201d in the region and the wider world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja called for coexistence, defended the Abraham Accords, and warned that extremist groups…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[83,65,42,154750,2894,43,135603,40,38,41,39,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-311902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-abraham-accords","9":"tag-gideon-saar","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-iftar","12":"tag-isaac-herzog","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-ramadan","15":"tag-top-news","16":"tag-top-stories","17":"tag-topnews","18":"tag-topstories","19":"tag-uae-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}