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One million Israelis have visited the United Arab Emirates since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
is speaking jewish news Referring to the social and economic benefits of the historic normalization pact between the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco and Israel in Jerusalem, foreign ministry spokesman Lior Hayat said: “Since the end of 2020, almost 1 in 10 Israelis have visited the UAE.”
There are currently more than 200 weekly flights between the counties, 88 of which are from Ben Gurion to Dubai and 22 to Abu Dhabi, operated by Emirates, flydubai and EL AL.
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Hayat, who is also director of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ National Public Diplomacy Bureau, said: “Part of the reason for the popularity of the UAE is that there is no anti-Semitism on the scale that we see in other Arab countries. It is one of the few places in the Middle East that has historically had no Jewish presence. One of the countries. The locals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi don’t have deep-seated hostility towards Jews. They don’t see Israel as an enemy.”
EL AL flight LY971 lands at Abu Dhabi Airport, United Arab Emirates, on August 31, 2020.
He added: “Other countries that have signed the agreement have problems. For example, Bahrain has a large Shiite community that is heavily influenced by Iran, so there is anti-Israel activity there. It also has a 300-year-old Jewish community, which has suffered abuse in the past. At the same time, Morocco has a double vision of Israel – through its cultural connection between its ancient Jewish community and strong pro-Palestinian sentiment, especially at the political level.”
Asked whether Saudi Arabia was poised to be the next Arab country to sign the deal, Hayat said: “Any agreement with Saudi Arabia is likely to be separate from the Abraham Accords and far greater in terms of importance. The agreement is not a question of if, but when.
“We can see a change in the language the Saudi leadership uses with its own people when it comes to Israel. In the past, whenever Israel was brought up, Palestine was also brought up, but now it’s no longer an obstacle. Israel Viewed by Saudi Arabia as a future partner. A peace agreement between our two countries – and a third country bordering Israel – will transform the entire region and inspire more Arab and Muslim countries to follow.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen are reportedly negotiating an expansion of the Abraham Accords to include Indonesia, Niger, Mauritania and Somalia.
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