By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Despite widespread condemnation of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the UAE has not severed its diplomatic ties with the occupation state.

UAE authorities have discovered the body of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who had been missing since Thursday, Israeli media reported on Sunday. 

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN) reported that Kogan, a former member of the Israeli army’s Givati Brigade’s Charedi company and an emissary for the Chabad chapter in Abu Dhabi, was found dead. 

Chabad is an extremist ultra-orthodox religious group known for its strong ties with the Israeli army.

Israeli officials condemned the killing claiming it was a “despicable antisemitic act of terror” and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Israeli National Security Council reiterated that the UAE has a Level 3 travel warning, urging Israeli citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Gulf state due to threats against Israelis in the region. 

The Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan who was killed in the UAE was a representative of the Chabad group. So, what is this group?

⭕ It is an extremist Haredi religious group known for its strong ties with the occupying army.

⭕ More than 80% of the religious lessons given to soldiers… pic.twitter.com/JcUtH78CsK

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 24, 2024

The warning advised, “Avoid visiting businesses, gathering places, and entertainment venues identified with the Israeli and Jewish population,” and recommended increased caution and refraining from displaying Israeli symbols.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Kogan’s car was discovered abandoned in the Emirate of Al Ain, approximately 150 kilometers from Abu Dhabi, with signs of a struggle inside. 

Israeli officials suspect the involvement of Uzbek nationals allegedly recruited by Iran, who later fled to Turkey. 

An unnamed UAE official was quoted in Israeli media as saying, “It happened after years without an unusual security or nationalistic incident.”

Asher Ben Artzi, Israel’s former head of Interpol, told the Telegraph that “Iranian intelligence is very active there and invests great efforts in locating Israelis who will be the target of an attack”. 

“They don’t always act by themselves, many times they use agents and sources they recruit,” he added.

⚡️The UAE missing rabbi, Zvi Kogan who participated in the Gaza genocide, has been found dead in the UAE. pic.twitter.com/FINe4sdGZP

— Warfare Analysis (@warfareanalysis) November 24, 2024

Since the UAE normalized relations with Israel as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, Kogan has served as the country’s representative of Chabad, a Zionist organization dedicated to expanding Jewish life in the UAE. 

Despite widespread condemnation of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the UAE has not severed its diplomatic ties with the occupation state.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza. 

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,211 Palestinians have been killed, and 104,567 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’. 

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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety. 

(PC, MEMO)