UAE foreign minister meets Netanyahu

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday met with UAE’s Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“I was happy to meet Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE foreign minister,” Netanyahu, who is currently the opposition leader in the Israeli parliament, said on Twitter.

“These days we mark two years since the signing of the historic Abraham Accords, which changed the face of the entire Middle East,” he added.

Netanyahu said that “the peace between the two nations gives great hope, and that Abraham Accords have brought great prosperity.”

The UAE foreign minister arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday on an official visit that coincides with the second anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel.

He met on Thursday with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Yair Lapid and discussed issues of mutual interests, including the prospects for UAE-Israeli cooperation and partnership, according to Emirates News Agency.

In September 2020, the UAE and Israel signed a US-sponsored deal to normalize their relations. Since then, the two countries have exchanged official visits by senior officials and signed dozens of bilateral agreements in various fields, including investment, banking services, and tourism.

Three other Arab states – Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – joined the UAE in the controversial move that came to be known as the Abraham Accords.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report.