The UAE could help ease tensions between Israel and Syria’s new government.
Reports on May 8 indicated that the UAE was mediating secret talks between Israel and Syria. Sources noted that the indirect contacts have been focused on security and intelligence issues.
As the Middle East undergoes a quiet realignment, the UAE’s quiet and judicious diplomacy could help regarding Syria-Israel tensions.
Israel has been bombing Syria in the wake of the Assad regime’s collapse on December 8, 2024. Israel had bombed Syria in the past, targeting Iranian entrenchment.
After December 8, the official Israeli reason for keeping up the strikes is to remove threats and also warn Damascus against attacks on minorities such as the Druze. The UAE has ties with Israel and also with Damascus. It wants stability. Therefore, it can play a role in mediating between the two countries.
Will Turkey quiet the Damascus-Jerusalem tensions?
The UAE is not the only country with interests in ending the Israel-Syria tensions. Turkey wants the bombing to stop and so does Qatar. However, Doha and Ankara both back Hamas. The US also wants the tensions to end and so does Azerbaijan. The UAE possesses a strategic economic vision and also an understanding of both sides that may help.
The UAE was a key member of the Abraham. Abu Dhabi has demonstrated a pragmatic approach that includes economic interests with regional calculations. The UAE understands that influence in the modern Middle East is built through this kind of embrace of stability and quiet power.
Abu Dhabi also was willing to work with the previous Syrian regime. It moved to normalize ties with the Assad regime even when other countries such as Qatar did not. Now the UAE has been willing to turn a new page with the transitional administration in Damascus. Washington is prevaricating so far, but the UAE has tested the waters. If the region is to stabilize, Syria must be brought back into a framework of regional engagement.
At the same time, the UAE has become one of Israel’s most important new partners in the Gulf. The Abraham Accords did more than just open embassies; they began to lay the groundwork for real cooperation in defense, technology, and economic development. Because Abu Dhabi is trusted to some extent by Damascus and also by Jerusalem, it is well placed to help mediate.
The UAE can offer Syria incentives such as investment and economic opportunity. For a war-torn Syria desperate for reconstruction and investment, the prospect of Emirati-backed development projects could help pave the way to wider understanding with Israel. While direct normalization with Israel is unlikely in Damascus, quiet understandings about border stability, Iranian threats to stability southern Syria, and humanitarian issues could be negotiated under this track of UAE engagement.
The Israeli Air Force has conducted dozens of airstrikes in Syria. Airstrikes are not a strategy. If the UAE can help secure quiet assurances from Damascus it might give Israel a reason to stand down. None of this will happen overnight. Nevertheless, things could be moving forward. With US President Donald Trump heading to the region, things could be looking up for a reduction in tensions between Israel and Syria. If the UAE helps build confidence as a mediator that will be good for everyone involved.
