The Flydubai incident comes just as ties between Israel and the Gulf states are warming. Suspicions of an Iranian connection raise the possibility that the goal was not only to strike Israel and Israelis, but also to undermine relations with the United Arab Emirates and thwart the emerging regional alliance.
Prof. Eyal Zisser | Oct 4, 2026
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The attempted terrorist attack on a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, which was miraculously thwarted, was intended to kill Israelis, but also to deal a devastating blow to ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Just as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar sought to prevent any progress toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, whoever was behind the attack, with suspicion naturally falling on Iran, sought not only to kill Jews but also to undermine Israel’s regional standing, precisely as all indications point to warming ties between Israel and the Gulf states.
The attack came in the same week that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the UAE and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a visit that reflected growing recognition among the Gulf states that relations with Israel are a strategic asset of the highest order and must be protected.
It was an unusual visit, both because Israel is approaching an election, in which the Gulf states are eager to avoid any appearance of involvement, and because few countries today are willing to host an Israeli prime minister. The Emirati delegation, incidentally, was among the few Arab delegations that did not leave the UN General Assembly hall when Netanyahu took the podium to deliver his speech.
This is not a matter of personal relations. Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump were, of course, instrumental in the Abraham Accords, which in September 2020 produced a breakthrough in Israel’s relations with the Gulf states. But relations between the leaders of Israel and the UAE have since seen both highs and lows, including episodes both sides would presumably prefer to forget, such as reports that the Emirati leader warned of Hamas’ intention to carry out an attack on Israel just days before Oct. 7, 2023.
The urgency surrounding the meeting was clear even before the attempted attack on the Flydubai aircraft, and all the more so afterward. The UAE is in the midst of a war, and even if a ceasefire has ostensibly been reached, everyone understands that it is temporary. Even that ceasefire has not prevented continued missile attacks from Iran and Yemen, and now, it appears, murderous terrorist activity emanating from them as well.
Reports of a possible agreement between Trump and the Iranians, or alternatively the possibility that the war could resume in full force after the US midterm elections in early November, are both causing deep concern in the Gulf states. Whatever happens, it is clear that, as in the previous war, these countries will become targets for Iran without being able to rely on the US to come to their aid.
Alongside Iran is Yemen. The hands are those of the Houthis, but the voice is Tehran’s. In recent weeks, the Houthis have seized the initiative and taken control of large areas of the country, including territory commanding the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have failed to close ranks against the threat and failed in their attempts to rally allies inside Yemen against the Houthis. They are now paying the price, as the Houthis have stepped up both the scale and pace of their missile attacks on oil facilities and other strategic targets on their territory.
Overshadowing all of this is the fear of abandonment, specifically abandonment by the US. Despite a request from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Americans have refrained from coming to Saudi Arabia’s aid, just as they failed to do so when the kingdom came under Iranian attack. Saudi Arabia may have signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Turkey and Pakistan, but if those two countries have already developed cold feet when facing the Houthis, what can Riyadh expect from them if full-scale fighting with Iran resumes?
Against this backdrop, it is easy to understand why the Gulf states view Israel, now more than ever, as a reliable ally. Security cooperation with Israel, through intelligence sharing, the supply of advanced weapons and perhaps even joint operational activity to thwart terrorism and Iran’s designs, carries both importance and value.
The UAE has led the way, but Saudi Arabia and even Kuwait are behind it, warming up their engines as they await the moment when cooperation with Israel can be brought into the open.
**This article appeared first in Israel Hayom and is reproduced here with author’s consent.
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