Ahead of Israeli delegation's historic visit, Ynet reporter makes his way to the United Arab Emirates to test the waters and get an idea about the local population's feelings toward the normalization agreement with Israel.
The U.S. and Israeli delegations were to take off from Ben Gurion Airport to Abu Dhabi on Monday to discuss the details of the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE.
Adir Yanko travelled to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi a day of the official delegation's arrival. "I took a cab and called my family to update them that all is well. I was sure hearing someone speaking Hebrew will trigger the driver," says Yanko.
After 40 minutes of driving, Yanko told his cab driver, Rami, that he was in fact from Israel. "He shook my hand in excitement and told me he never met an Israeli before. He added that he doesn’t care if I was Arab or not. What matters most is business."
Despite being a source of great excitement back in Israel, it appears neither Rami nor anyone else Yanko has met in Abu Dhabi knew the Israeli delegation is about to make its way to the Gulf state.
According to Yanko, the people of the UAE are far more concerned with the coronavirus pandemic and the continued rise in infections.
It seems that every day, new health regulations are published, while the previous are effectively abolished. The newest directive states that all those arriving in Abu Dhabi from other emirates or from abroad must wear a special tracking watch and stay in the emirate for no less than 14 days, to the dismay of many tourists arriving to the city.
The delegations' historic visit is expected to last two days, and will include working meetings of joint Israeli, American, and Emirati teams on a variety of topics, including in the civil and economic fields, diplomacy, finances, visas, science and more.
The visit will include a joint meeting of National Security Council Chairman Meir Ben Shabbat, U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, U.S. President Donlad Trump's adviser Jared Kushner and UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahanon Ben Zayed.
The delegation will also include the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office Ronen Peretz, and the Director-General of the Foreign Ministry Alon Ushpiz - who coordinate the work of the two ministries in the economic-civil areas.