Bennett begins landmark visit to UAE as Iran tensions surge

In first public visit by an Israeli leader to Gulf state, premier set to meet with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to discuss strengthening of cooperation and economic and commercial ties between both countries
Reuters|Updated:
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett began the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, seeking to strengthen Gulf ties at a time of heightened regional tension as world powers try to revive a nuclear deal with Iran.
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  • Bennett plans to hold talks on Monday with the UAE's de facto leader, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
    3 View gallery
    נפתלי בנט עם שר החוץ של איחוד האמירויות, שייח' עבדאללה בן זאיד
    נפתלי בנט עם שר החוץ של איחוד האמירויות, שייח' עבדאללה בן זאיד
    Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday
    (Photo: GPO)
    The diplomatic outreach comes as world powers negotiate with Iran on salvaging a 2015 nuclear deal opposed by Israel and abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. president Donald Trump.
    Since August 2020, the UAE, followed by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, have moved to normalize ties with Israel under a U.S.-sponsored initiative dubbed the "Abraham Accords" after the biblical patriarch revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
    Bennett's UAE trip is the first by an Israeli premier to any of those countries since the accords.
    On arrival in Abu Dhabi after a flight from Tel Aviv, Bennett was welcomed by an honor guard and the UAE's foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.
    3 View gallery
    נפתלי בנט עם שר החוץ של איחוד האמירויות, שייח' עבדאללה בן זאיד
    נפתלי בנט עם שר החוץ של איחוד האמירויות, שייח' עבדאללה בן זאיד
    UAE FM bin Zayed welcoming PM Bennett in Abu Dhabi
    (Photo: GPO)
    "What a wonderful reception. I am very excited to be here on behalf of my people (on the) first official visit of an Israeli leader here," Bennett said. "We are looking forward to strengthening the relationship," he added.
    Israel has broached setting up joint defenses with Gulf Arab states that share its concern over Iranian activities. Pursuing economic, health and energy ties with its new ally, the UAE has signed dozens of memorandums of understanding with Israel since the Abraham Accords were signed.
    3 View gallery
    UAE ruler Mohammed bin Zayed
    UAE ruler Mohammed bin Zayed
    UAE ruler Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed
    (Photo: Reuters)
    Yet the UAE has also reached out to its Iran, sending its senior national security adviser there last Monday to meet his Iranian counterpart and President Ebrahim Raisi.
    A flight-tracking app showed Bennett's El Al Israel Airlines plane overflying Saudi Arabia, which does not have formal ties with Israel, en route to Abu Dhabi. Riyadh agreed last year to allow Israel-UAE flights to cross its territory despite the absence of official ties.
    The rapprochement in the Gulf has been condemned by Palestinians, whose diplomacy with Israel stalled in 2014.
    First published: 20:51, 12.12.21
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