Dubai-based businessman Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor criticized Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after remarks calling for the killing of 30 to 40 men, women or children in Gaza every night. In comments reported on August 18, Al-Habtoor questioned the rationale for maintaining normalized relations with Israel. He described Ben-Gvir’s remarks as a “dangerous moral decline.”

Ben-Gvir made the comments on Sunday, also describing Palestinians as not worthy of life and not human. In an X post the following day, Al-Habtoor asked how peace, dialogue and coexistence could be discussed if an Israeli government official could speak publicly in such terms without fear of accountability. He said Gaza’s children, women and men are human and have the right to life and dignity.

Al-Habtoor is not a UAE government official, though the report says he is close to the country’s ruling establishment. He did not call for suspending relations, imposing sanctions or using UAE economic leverage against Israel. The UAE remains Israel’s largest Arab trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling $3.2 billion in 2025. Al-Habtoor had strongly supported normalization in 2020.