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While Dubai sells a dream of luxury, the reality is stark: 40,000 children are orphaned in Gaza and the West Bank is under illegal occupation. We examine the UAE's complicity and the deafening silence of the Islamic world.
The cognitive dissonance is becoming impossible to ignore. On one side of the divide, we have the digital feeds flooded with images of desperation—children rummaging through rubble, families huddled against the cold in makeshift tents, and the haunting statistic that continues to sear itself into our collective conscience: 40,000 children in Gaza have been orphaned .
On the other side, we are sold a dream. A dream of golden-sand beaches, avant-garde architecture, guilt-free indulgence, and the latest social media craze—"Dubai chocolate." It is a city that markets itself as a glittering oasis of tolerance and progress in the heart of the Muslim world. But as the death toll mounts and the land theft continues in the West Bank, the facade of Dubai—and the wider complicity of the Islamic world—crumbles into a pile of moral bankruptcy .
This isn't just about geopolitics; it is about a staggering, vomit-inducing hypocrisy that we can no afford to ignore.
The Bloody Price of a Luxury Holiday
Let’s cut through the PR spin. The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is the crown jewel, has positioned itself as a humanitarian mediator. We see the carefully staged photos of wounded Palestinian children being treated in Emirati hospitals. It is a well-oiled machine designed to sanitise a brutal reality. But while the cameras flash on these "mercy missions," the truth is that Emirati dirhams—the very currency that fuels the Burj Khalifa and its endless shopping festivals—are greasing the wheels of the Israeli war machine .
While you are enjoying a "kunafa" chocolate bar, ask yourself: where did the ingredients come from? While you book that flydubai flight for a half-term getaway, consider what that airline is doing.
Investigations have revealed a sickening reality: the UAE has acted as a critical logistical lifeline for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. As global carriers pulled out of Tel Aviv in disgust, Emirati carriers stepped in. We aren't talking about a few planes. Data shows that between November 2023 and November 2024, there were at least 233 cargo flights between the UAE and Israel. In 2024 alone, 2,293 flights departed from the UAE to Israel . These weren't carrying blankets and medicine for Gazans. They were sustaining the Israeli economy, keeping El Al airlines profitable, and quite literally allowing the bombs to keep falling.
It goes deeper. When Houthi resistance disrupted Red Sea shipping lanes, who came to Israel's rescue? The UAE, through its DP World logistics giant, helped establish a land bridge running through Saudi Arabia and Jordan to bypass the blockades and keep Israel fully stocked . This is not the behaviour of a neutral party. This is the behaviour of a committed business partner in occupation.
Arms, Intelligence, and Settlements: The West Bank Abandoned
And then there is the West Bank. While the world focuses on Gaza, the slow-motion theft of the West Bank continues unabated, with the UAE once again playing a supporting role. The occupation isn't just about military checkpoints; it is about economic strangulation and the legitimisation of illegal settlements.
The UAE has shamelessly imported products—wine, honey, olive oil—from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank . By doing so, they are effectively stating that Palestinian land is up for grabs. They have welcomed settlers and settlement-backing billionaires like Lev Leviev into their luxury hotels to discuss further "joint projects" .
Furthermore, the UAE has become a hub for the very technology that is surveilling and killing Palestinians. State-owned defence conglomerates have signed deals with Israel Aerospace Industries and the notorious Elbit Systems—companies that build the drones and missiles shredding Gaza to pieces . How dare they claim to stand with Palestine while their hands are stained with the gunpowder used to erase entire bloodlines?
The recent decision by the US to provide consular services inside the Efrat settlement in the West Bank is a de facto recognition of the occupation . Where is the unified, thunderous response from the nations that claim to protect the Ummah?
The Mute Spectators: Where is the Islamic World?
This brings us to the most painful question of all. If Dubai is the flashy, hypocritical businessman profiting from the tragedy, the rest of the Islamic world is the mute spectator in the back of the room. Where is the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ? Where is the Arab League?
We see them convening emergency meetings in Jeddah, issuing statements of "concern" regarding the West Bank, and discussing "coordination of positions" . But where is the action? The Grand Mufti of Oman, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Khalili, voiced what millions are thinking when he asked: "Where is the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, where is the Arab League, and where is Islamic zeal?" .
It is a question that echoes through the bombed-out streets of Gaza.
The silence is not accidental; it is a byproduct of normalisation. Many of these regimes have prioritised state security and economic partnerships with the West (and Israel) over the plight of the Palestinian people. They have been bought off, pacified, or intimidated into silence.
As the UN Human Rights Office recently warned, the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure and forced displacement in both Gaza and the West Bank raises grave concerns over "ethnic cleansing" . Yet, our leaders speak of "restraint" and "ceasefires" while Israel openly discusses annexation. It is an absolute abdication of responsibility.
The Wounded Child, No Surviving Family
We must return to the human element. The numbers are staggering, but the stories are soul-crushing. Caritas Polska recently highlighted the emergence of a horrific new acronym in Gaza: WCNSF—Wounded Child, No Surviving Family .
Imagine that. A child, perhaps too young to speak, pulled from the rubble, physically wounded, but with no mother to hold them, no father to identify them. They have become children without history. Experts warn that the trauma these children are experiencing is not just psychological; it is epigenetic. The horror will be passed down through their very DNA to their future children .
These are the children our "Muslim brothers" in high places have abandoned.
A Call to Conscience: Boycott the Complicit
So, what do we do? We cannot control the actions of tyrants, but we can control our wallets. The concept of boycott is not new; it is a prophetic tradition of standing against oppression. When we spend money in Dubai, we are not just buying a handbag or a hotel stay. We are investing in a regime that funds settlements, arms the occupier, and spies on pro-Palestine activists .
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught: "A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor" .
By funding the UAE economy, we are handing our brothers and sisters in Gaza over to their oppressors.
It is time to strip away the glamour and see Dubai for what it truly is in this context: a PR campaign built on a foundation of blood. It is time to demand that the OIC and Arab League stop spectating and start acting. And it is time for us, as people of conscience, to use every tool at our disposal—our voices, our social media, and our money—to say: Not in our name.
Gaza is bleeding. The West Bank is being stolen. And the world is watching. Don't be a spectator. Be the resistance.