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In what they describe as a “moment of historic potential,” senior West Bank settler leaders have made their first-ever visit to a Muslim country, attending an official iftar dinner last week in Abu Dhabi.
The delegation, made up of regional council heads from the Yesha Council settler lobby, was hosted by Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, a senior member of the UAE’s Federal National Council.
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Yesha Council Chair Yisrael Gantz and UAE official Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi in Adbu Dhabi
Yesha Council Chair Yisrael Gantz called the visit part of a new era in regional diplomacy. “A new world order demands new alliances and out-of-the-box thinking,” he said, following meetings with Emirati officials, business leaders, influencers and Israeli Ambassador to the UAE Yossi Shelley.
The visit, quietly initiated by Emirati hosts, marks a shift in strategy. While Arab nations publicly continue to advocate for a Palestinian state, officials in Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi increasingly acknowledge the weakening legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority (PA), seen by many as corrupt and ineffective. Settlement leaders hope this growing disillusionment will pave the way for normalization of Israeli settlements and future peace agreements that exclude mass evacuation of settlers.
According to sources familiar with the talks, Emirati interest in engaging with Israeli settler leaders stems from recognition of their political power within Israel’s current coalition. The UAE has also observed the settler movement’s growing ties to the Trump administration during the former U.S. president’s first term, particularly regarding sovereignty over the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria by its biblical name.
Although such discussions were once unthinkable, a public exchange between Gantz and Al Nuaimi now reflects the settlers’ broader strategy to gain legitimacy in the Arab world and bypass the traditional diplomatic channels centered around the PA.
While international diplomacy plays out in the Gulf, the settler leadership is also reshaping policy at home. Gantz maintains direct lines to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose former staffers now fill key roles in Gantz’s office. Together, they are accelerating settlement expansion through weekly meetings of the Civil Administration planning council.
Data obtained by Ynet and its sister publication Yedioth Ahronoth shows that from January to mid-March 2025, over 10,500 housing units have advanced in various planning stages — a massive jump from just 3,400 units during the same period in 2024.
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This includes approvals for settlements across the West Bank: 500 units in Ma’ale Amos (Gush Etzion) approved on March 13, 464 units in Yakir (Samaria) on March 6, 460 units in Zayit Raanan (Benjamin region) on Feb. 26, 900 units in Rimonim (Benjamin region) on Feb. 12 and 287 units in Adora (South Hebron Hills) on Feb. 5.
Some previously frozen plans are now advancing, aided by creative solutions. For example, a project in Otniel for 156 units, once halted due to a lack of state land, was approved after planners proposed bridges over private land to ensure legal continuity with the community.
Sources say security and government officials are now discussing the dismantling of the PA and replacing it with decentralized Palestinian districts managed independently in coordination with the IDF. A pilot for this concept is reportedly being prepared in Hebron.
“The events of October 7 changed everything. Both sides now recognize the need to do things differently — each for their own people,” said a source familiar with the discussions.
Settlement leaders, including Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, have been building business ties with the UAE for several years. Their goal is to reshape the regional narrative: normalization with Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, should not be contingent on a Palestinian state or the removal of settlements.
Behind the scenes, this growing alliance between settler leaders and Gulf officials may signal a shift in Middle East diplomacy—one where old assumptions about land, sovereignty and peace are being rewritten in real time.