UAE: MBZ ties to Dahlan highlight policy contradictions

In the tangled politics of the Middle East, it is no rarity to find a manifestation of the much-quoted saying, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’. But it is strange, nonetheless, to see Abu Dhabi’s attempts to forge a more assertive foreign policy draw it into a once almost unimaginable web that includes Hamas, the leadership of Serbia and former UK prime minister Tony Blair. Linking the elements of this unlikely arrangement is former Fatah stalwart Mohammed Dahlan, who fled Ramallah in 2011 after falling out with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.