Israeli Foreign Minister visits the UAE for the first time

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Yar RapidLast year, the two countries normalized their relations in an agreement reached under the mediation of the Trump administration. This is the first of four similar agreements reached with the Trump administration. Arabian countries Has long avoided the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Both the new Israeli government and the Biden government have stated that they hope to reach similar agreements with other Arab countries.Israel and UAE Despite the war in Gaza last month, they also continued to work hard to deepen their relationship.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Lapid will visit the UAE from June 29th to 30th and will open the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai consulate.

It said in a statement: “The relationship between Israel and the UAE is an important one, and the results will be enjoyed not only by the citizens of the two countries, but also by the entire Middle East.”

Rapid was the driving force behind the new Israeli government that was sworn in a week ago, which ended Benjamin Netanyahu’s record 12-year term as prime minister. Netanyahu and Trump regard the agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as one of their greatest achievements.

Since reaching an agreement to enjoy the future of Dubai, Israelis have flocked to the UAE. The UAE is a major tourist hub in the world, and normalization has made it easier for Israelis to travel further afield. The two countries have also signed a series of cooperation agreements in the fields of commerce and technology.

Israel’s i24NEWS announced on Monday that it has obtained a broadcasting license to operate in the UAE and will open its own office in Dubai Media City. This 24-hour channel aims to report international news from an Israeli perspective and has been provided by Etisalat and du cable providers in the UAE.

Soon after the Israel-UAE agreement was reached, the Trump administration authorized the sale of 50 advanced F-35 fighter jets to the UAE, which will make it the second Middle Eastern country after Israel.

The Biden administration shelved the agreement in January after it drew fierce criticism from congressional Democrats who believed that the sale proceeded too quickly and lacked sufficient transparency. But in April, the government decided to continue with US$23 billion in arms sales, saying it would cooperate with the UAE to ensure compliance with human rights standards and the laws of war.

The Palestinians strongly criticized the normalization agreement because they broke the long-standing Arab consensus that Israel can only be recognized as a return for concessions in the peace process, which has been dying for more than a decade.

Even before the normalization agreement, the Gulf Arab countries were quietly establishing closer relations with Israel because of their shared concerns about Iran. According to reports, in the years before the normalization of relations, senior Israeli officials secretly visited the UAE and other Arab countries.