Hours after Israeli officials arrived on a historic flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi to finalize a peace deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a news conference on Monday that he invited a delegation from the United Arab Emirates to visit Israel.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The invitation, Netanyahu said, was extended by his national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat, who is heading a group of senior Israeli officials now in Abu Dhabi to draft the pact marking open relations between Israel and the Gulf state.
Netanyahu said that he had asked the Israeli officials to complete the negotiations as quickly as possible so that the third Israeli-Arab peace accord could take effect.
"We will welcome them with a red carpet, like they welcomed us," Netanyahu said during the news conference. Netanyahu said that the arrival of the Israeli delegation, in what was the first official flight from Israel to the UAE, along with senior advisers in the Trump administration, marked the shifting dynamics in the region.
"This is a victory for the doctrine of peace for peace," Netanyahu said, alluding to Israel's other two peace accords, which involved territorial concessions. "If the Jewish state is strong the majority fo the Arab world will make real peace with it. This concept stands in stark contrast to the notion that Israel has to appease the Arabs," Netanyahu said.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
