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 iftar hosted by the Emirati embassy on Thursday.
Speaking before a crowd that included President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Al Khaja said Ramadan is meant to strengthen family and community ties, but argued that “terrorist groups and forces of darkness” try to turn the month into a tool for division.
“I regret to say that the month of Ramadan in Israel is not like other places,” he said, accusing extremists of attempting to “ignite tensions, spread division, and promote violence, oppression, and racism.”
Al Khaja also pointed to continuing violence inside Arab communities, saying that “violence and killing continue in Arab cities and villages,” and that efforts to build trust are being “systematically obstructed.” He urged what he called “a responsible pause from all of us.”
The UAE envoy framed peace with Israel as a strategic choice shaped by regional instability. “There is no alternative to peace,” he said, adding that the UAE’s approach was tied to the future of “our region and our children,” particularly amid rapid geopolitical change.
Mohamed Al Khaja pushes for peace, bashes hate
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 has sought to prove “the impossible has no place in our region.”
In a nod to the UAE’s founding ethos, he quoted the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan: “Nothing is everlasting at all, neither man nor wealth; what endures is the homeland and work.” Al Khaja said the line captured the “essence” of the UAE’s message, linking it to humanitarian giving and economic development.
A central theme of the address focused on religion’s role in public life. “The most dangerous thing that threatens our homelands is the politicization of religion or its weaponization,” he said. “Religion is for God, the homeland is for all, and terrorism has no religion.”
Al Khaja also defended the Abraham Accords, saying predictions of their collapse after the October 7 massacre did not materialize. “Peace endured, because it is based on common interests and mutual respect,” he said, and because it proved stronger than “the advocates of division.”
He described the scene at the event as a sign of what normalization can look like in practice. “Thanks to this peace, I can today, as an Emirati Arab Muslim, be among you in the State of Israel,” he said, calling it an opportunity to break the fast “under one roof” alongside Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
Al Khaja ended by expressing hope that the gathering would help “bring hearts closer,” “heal wounds,” and keep attention on shared interests, while praying for “security and peace” in the region and the wider world.
