Did 5,000 Israelis gain UAE citizenship? Looks like fake news.

The Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday (archived):

Some 5,000 Israelis have received Emirati citizenship during the past three months, Emirates Leaks reported on Thursday.

This was done due to the Arab country having recently amending its law that would make it easier to grant citizenship, explaining that granting foreigners citizenship would help stimulate its economy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

A visa will not be necessary for Israelis in order to cross Arab countries and the Persian Gulf, provided that they have Emirati citizenship, multiple sources confirm.

Furthermore, UAE authorities would allow businesspeople and investors to acquire citizenship without having to give up their Israeli citizenship. 

It seems that Emirates Leaks, a thoroughly anti-UAE site, is not very reliable. The Jerusalem Post took down the article. 

The UAE did liberalize its citizenship requirements a few months ago, allowing foreigners to become citizens, but the foreigners need to be nominated by the UAE royal family or top officials - one cannot apply to become a citizen. It seems very far-fetched to say that they offered citizenship to 5000 Israelis - or that the Israelis took it.

Iranian media is going nuts over this report, though. 

The story brings up the question that Westerners are loath to ask: Why don't Arab governments offer citizenship to the Palestinians that they pretend to support so much? The official reason is to keep the "right of return" alive, but as the case of Jordan shows, they can still profess the desire to "return" even as citizens. 

The only reason is because Arab nations prefer Palestinians to be stateless to becoming citizens. Which shows you how much they like the Palestinians they pretend to champion. 

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