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London activists replace UAE embassy plaque with 'United Arab Zionists'

Demonstrators also laid Palestine and Sudan flags alongside shrouded baby models at the doorstep of the embassy
Plaque which reads “Embassy of the United Arab Zionists” which activists stuck over the embassy's sign (Screengrab from Instagram/@Deenified)

Demonstrators in London staged a protest outside the United Arab Emirates embassy, placing a sign reading  “Embassy of the United Arab Zionists” in English and Hebrew over the embassy’s plaque.

Online, a video has gone viral of a group of masked activists approaching the embassy carrying toy babies in shrouds, a suitcase with the replacement embassy plaque, and placards reading “Supporting Genocides in Sudan and Gaza” and “#Traitors”.

The protest was organised by "Deenified", who describe themselves as a “movement built by the youth for the youth” created to “tackle issues Muslim youth face today”. The video they posted on their Instagram page over the weekend, gained more than 60,000 views.

The demonstration aimed to emphasise how Israel and the UAE "work hand in hand to achieve their interests, while murdering thousands of civilian lives - be they Muslim or non-Muslim, as well a destroying and displacing them from their homes", Deenified told MEE in a written comment. 

The protest comes as frustration continues to grow towards the UAE, and other Arab nations, for their normalisation of relations with Israel.

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The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco established official ties with Israel as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords in late 2020, and Sudan joined soon after in January 2021. It resulted in formal recognition of Israel, full diplomatic relations, and, crucially, bilateral trade agreements.

These countries have faced renewed anger amid Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza, its war on Lebanon and attacks on Yemen, Iran, Syria and Qatar.

Over the last couple of months, there have been fresh boycott calls against the UAE for its role in Sudan’s civil war, where it is supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that has been accused of committing genocide.

This month a giant billboard was plastered across Oxford street featuring a young woman in an infinity swimming pool with the Dubai skyline behind her with the words: “Your selfie won't look so good once you've found out what they're doing in Sudan.”

MEE reported in January 2024 that the UAE was supplying the RSF with weapons through a complex network of supply lines and alliances stretching across Libya, Chad, Uganda and Somalia.

The war erupted in April 2023 when a power struggle broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.

More than 150,000 people have been killed, though rights groups say the number is probably much higher. 

About 14 million people have been displaced, including 4.3 million who have fled to neighbouring countries.

Note: This article was updated to include a comment from Deenified. 
 

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