UAE defends Egypt against Netanyahu’s accusations of arms delivery to Palestinian groups

September 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday defended the Egyptian government against accusations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Palestinian groups have been receiving weapons across the border with Egypt.

In a statement, the UAE Foreign Ministry expressed its “full solidarity with Egypt in the face of Israeli accusations and claims regarding the Philadelphia border crossing” and “strongly” condemned the “offensive Israeli statements in this regard for threatening stability” in the region.

The UN called on Israeli authorities to “stop escalating tensions and avoid taking measures that exacerbate conflict and instability,” while rejecting “all practices that violate international resolutions and threaten an escalation of violence.”

“We underline the importance of supporting all regional and international efforts to advance the Middle East peace process and to put an end to illegal practices that undermine the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” he concluded.

Netanyahu said Monday that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) receives weapons across the border, saying this flow of weapons did not take place only under the late Muslim Brotherhood-linked President Mohamed Mursi, but during the rule of the late Hosni Mubarak and “others,” in an apparent reference to the current President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Netanyahu’s top adviser and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer also criticized Egypt, specifically mentioning Sisi during an interview in which he said Cairo has failed to secure the border regardless of its intentions.