In another sign of warming ties between Israel and Gulf Arab nations, the Jewish state Tuesday congratulated the UAE on its bid to launch the first Arab space probe.
The United Arab Emirates announced last month that it would launch a mission to Mars in July.
The unmanned probe, named Hope, has been billed as “the first interplanetary exploration undertaken” by an Arab state.
“We wish the UAE the best of luck on the launch of this scientific mission, and hope this step will contribute towards deeper cooperation between all countries in the region,” the Foreign Ministry’s “Israel in the Gulf” Twitter account wrote in Arabic.
Except for Jordan and Egypt, Arab countries have no official relations with Israel.
But Arab states in the Gulf like the UAE have been warming ties with Israel recently amid shared concerns over Iran.
The UAE made its first publicly announced flight to Israel last month when its Etihad Airways sent medical aid for Palestinians to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and on Tuesday a second plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport.
Unlike the first flight last month, the Dreamliner 787 used Tuesday carried the Etihad logo and the United Arab Emirates flag.
Arab countries have called for a settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a condition for normalizing ties with the Jewish state.
But Gulf Arab states have shown signs of a rapprochement with Israel.
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Prime Minister Netanyahu meeting with Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 2018
(Photo: AP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman in 2018, and Israeli athletes and officials have been increasingly allowed to visit the Gulf states.
UAE’s WAM said the Hope probe would be launched on July 15 from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center.
It is set to make a 495-million-kilometer (307-million-mile) journey to reach and orbit Mars.
Last September, Hazza al-Mansouri made history as the first Emirati in space.