President Isaac Herzog arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday in the first such official visit, the latest sign of deepening ties between the two nations as tensions rise in the region.
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The UAE and Israel normalized relations in the fall of 2020, part of a series of US-brokered diplomatic deals between Israel and Arab states that had long avoided formal relations with Israel over its decades-old conflict with the Palestinians.
The Office of the President said Herzog would be meeting top officials including Abu Dhabi's powerful Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the de facto Emirati leader, along with members of the country's small but growing Jewish expat community. He also was expected to visit Expo 2020, the world's fair in Dubai, where Israel has hosted a series of events at its national pavilion.
Video: GPO
En route to the UAE Herzog's plane flew over Saudi Arabia, which he said was "truly a very moving moment." Riyadh and Israel do not have diplomatic ties, but Israel has said it would like to establish a relationship with the kingdom which is home to Islam's two holiest sites.
Upon landing in Abu Dhabi, Herzog was greeted with a warm handshake by Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They then held talks in the royal palace.
Israel's president plays a largely ceremonial role as a national unifier in the country's parliamentary system, where the prime minister holds the most power. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett last month made his first official visit to the Gulf Arab sheikhdom and discussed strengthening relations on a number of fronts with the crown prince.
Shortly before takeoff, Herzog said he sought to bring on his visit "the message of peace from Israel to the United Arab Emirates, and to all the peoples in the region."
The show of Israel-Emirati cooperation comes at a delicate time for the Middle East.
Fighting in Yemen's seven-year civil war has intensified, widening to reach Emirati soil for the first time this month. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels fighting the Saudi-led coalition claimed aerial attacks against Abu Dhabi – one that killed three workers at an industrial area and another that was intercepted and scattered missile shards over the capital.
The assaults shocked residents, puncturing the sense of safety pervasive in the region's globalized business hub. The Houthis have threatened further strikes this week.
On January 18, Israel offered "security and intelligence support" to the UAE against further drone attacks, according to a letter released last week by Bennett.
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Meanwhile, negotiations in Vienna between world powers and Iran to curb Tehran's rapidly expanding nuclear program paused on Friday, with European officials saying the talks had approached "the final stage." Former US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the landmark nuclear deal nearly four years ago in a move welcomed by Israel and America's Gulf Arab allies and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran.
Shared enmity of Iran and mutual fears over its nuclear program helped push the UAE and Israel to formalize relations after years of clandestine ties.
Palestinian leaders have condemned the normalization deal as a betrayal of their cause for statehood.
