Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates, with which Israel signed a peace deal in September, will invest at least $10 billion in Israel in various projects.
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Netanyahu, who spoke during a press conference with his Hungarian and Czech counterparts in Jerusalem, said Israel and the UAE also agreed on a framework that would allow Israelis who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel freely to the Gulf state and vice versa. Netanyahu said the investment deal will "make the economy take a leap forward." Netanyahu said that "we are already discussing these specific projects."
Netanyahu spoke just hours after his historic visit to the UAE had been canceled due to Jordan's unwillingness to grant overflight access to his aircraft, apparently in response to Israeli action on the Temple Mount.
"I spoke with my friend Shiekh Muhammed bin Zayyid and we have agreed on three things: to carry out a visit soon; to promote a 'Green Pass' mechanism between the two countries; and the third, most important thing, is the UAE planning to invest a gigantic sum of $10 billion in various projects in Israel," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said it was unfortunate that he could not go to the UAE. "It took us a few hours to put things right...I can now fly over Jordan, but until this coordination was achieved, it was not possible to visit (the UAE) today," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Czech Republic inaugurated its embassy's branch office in Jerusalem, defying the EU's unwillingness to recognize the city as Israel's capital.
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