Secret meetings between Yitzhak Molcho, formerly a top adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which took place in various European and Persian Gulf capitals formed the foundation that led to the historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Israel Hayom learned this week.
These back-channel negotiations were made possible thanks to the efforts of Former British Premier Tony Blair, who also served as special Quartet envoy to the Middle East until 2015.
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Molcho headed these setter talks from 2015 to 2018, when he was forced to step down as Netanyahu's adviser over allegations that he was involved in a tainted deal to procure German submarines for the Israeli Navy – an accusation that has since been refuted.
According to senior political sources, Molcho's meetings with the Emirati minister were held in London, Abu Dhabi and Nicosia and were mediated by Blair personally.
The talks helped rebuild trust between Israel and the UAE in the wake of the animosity created by the 2010 assassination of top Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai by Mossad intelligence agency officers.
Molcho relayed messages of rapprochement from Netanyahu to UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which led to several phone calls and eventually, to meetings in 2018.
In a special interview with Israel Hayom, slated to be published Friday, Blair said that it was Israel's agreement to shelve its plan to extend sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley under the US's Middle East peace plan that created the opportunity to push for normalizing ties between the two states.
The real breakthrough came after a substantial process that was years in the making, he explained.
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