Yail Rapid will become the first Israeli minister in history to visit the UAE officially. He arrived in the UAE on Tuesday to unveil the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai.
The UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will receive the newly appointed Israeli Foreign Minister. It is expected that the top diplomats of the two countries will discuss a series of bilateral issues during the two-day visit. Including economic cooperation, trade and security.
Lior Haiat, a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Al Jazeera that “the inauguration is a symbolic act” and added that “the embassy and consulate have been working for four and a half months.”
In August last year, under the government of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel normalized its relations with the UAE and Bahrain. Netanyahu’s 12-year rule of power ended earlier this month.
Netanyahu referred to these so-called “Abraham Agreements” agreements as personal achievements, and part of the reason for his failure to run for re-election was that he believed that he could maintain domestic security while bringing better relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. candidate.
Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak (Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak), a scholar at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic and Security Research, told Al Jazeera that this visit shows that the new Israeli government attaches great importance to its Gulf partners and “will cooperate with The relationship between the UAE has become a policy of Israel’s national system rather than a policy of political parties.”
At the same time, Israel has reservations about Washington and Tehran’s efforts to restore the Iranian nuclear agreement, and the Gaza war — which failed to destroy the fledgling UAE’s economic and security relations with Israel — or what it is taking The quiet steps to deepen the Iran nuclear agreement have reservations.
double
The bilateral relationship between Israel and the UAE faced an early test in May, when Israel bombed the Gaza Strip for 11 days, killing at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, and Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel, causing Israel 13 people died.
Although the UAE criticized Israel for forcibly expelling Palestinians from the Sheikh Jala community in Occupied East Jerusalem and attacking the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the UAE maintained a relatively moderate stance on Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Heytan said that from an Israeli point of view, the conflict proved the durability of normalization. “This has no impact on the relationship between Israel and the countries that signed the Abraham Agreement.”
Nonetheless, the anger expressed in the Arab world over Israel’s demonstrations and protests in Gaza reminds people that the official position of the UAE is far from that of public opinion.
Badr Saif, a non-resident researcher at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, told Al Jazeera: “In an era when there are no other themes, Jerusalem and Palestine are still the unified themes of the Arabs.”
Badr Saif added: “If the people in every country that normalizes relations are allowed to do the same, none of this will happen.” He added, “There are still illegal occupations.”
But the UAE has established itself as an outsider in the region. Analysts said that after decades of careful security cooperation, it made its relationship with Israel public and consolidated its pioneering reputation.
Saif said: “It will be easier if we openly carry out economic and security cooperation, and the UAE is capable of doing this.”
A woman stands in the ruins of a building destroyed by the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip by Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip last month. A child has a Palestinian flag painted on his face (AFP) (AFP)New agreement
Just days after Gaza announced the ceasefire, the two countries signed a tax agreement to promote investment in their respective economies and eliminate double taxation. Heytan described the agreement as “one of the most important agreements reached so far.” “.
Ofer Sachs, chief executive of Herzog Strategic, an Israeli consulting firm with offices in the UAE, said the agreement removes major barriers to cross-border investment and is viewed by the business community as a positive step.
Sachs told Al Jazeera that, despite this, much of the potential for the deeper economic relations that was promoted when the Abraham Agreement was signed has not yet been realized. “We are trying to show the success story very quickly, but that is not the case,” he added, “It will blossom and bear fruit over time.”
Sachs emphasized that UAE businessmen are proceeding cautiously, noting that “they are not eager for success, they want to establish real connections.”
So far, the largest potential transaction is the announcement of Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned investment fund, that it intends to acquire a US$1.1 billion stake in Israel’s Eastern Mediterranean Tamar gas field.
But a key part of the Abraham Agreement is that the UAE hopes to cooperate with Israeli companies and carry out joint projects, especially in areas where the interests of the two Middle Eastern countries overlap.
Israel Aerospace Industries signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE national defense company Edge in March to jointly produce anti-UAV systems.
Over time, it will blossom and bear fruit.
Ofer Sachs, CEO of Israeli consulting company Herzog Strategic
The above agreement was reached at a time when drone warfare became a powerful factor on the battlefield of the entire region.
Turkey, which has tense relations with the UAE and Israel, is advocating itself as a niche exporter of military drones and has demonstrated the potential of Turkish drones in conflicts from Libya and Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Saif said that the UAE is paying close attention to the development of drone warfare.
In September 2019, the Houthi forces allied with Yemen and Iran claimed responsibility for the attack on Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities, which caused a temporary suspension of oil production and exports.
Saudi Arabia is a close ally of the UAE. Since then, it has been subjected to several drone attacks. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for these attacks.
Said Saif. “If what happens to the Saudis happens to the UAE, they will never be able to sustain their tourism industry or events like the Dubai World Expo.”
Continuing relationship
One of the rewards of Abu Dhabi’s normalization is its new ability to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the United States. After signing the Abraham Agreement, Israel cancelled its opposition to the UAE’s purchase of weapons.
Although the defense deal between the two countries can now be publicly announced, the UAE and Israel maintain an ongoing relationship based on an industry that dates back decades, which is an open secret. But Sachs did not see any significant movement of the pointer.
Sachs said, “Maybe small and medium-sized companies that could not enter the market before will have the opportunity to enter, but I think the “Abraham Agreement” will not have that much impact on the defense industry.”
In September 2019, the Houthi armed forces allied with Yemen and Iran claimed responsibility for the attack on Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities, which caused a temporary suspension of oil production and exports (Associated Press)Iran
Security may still be the top priority of Rapide’s agenda.
Lapid’s visit to the UAE this week coincides with the administration of US President Joe Biden’s efforts to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement reached with world powers.
After Netanyahu expressed his favor to former US President Donald Trump, Rapide said that he was eager to repair the tension between Israel and the US Democratic Party.
On Sunday, Rapide met with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken in Rome and promised that any Israeli opposition to the new Iran agreement would be privately raised to Washington.
When the Iran nuclear agreement was signed in 2015, both Israel and the UAE opposed it and supported the Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the agreement in 2018. This alliance played a key role in promoting the Abraham Agreement.
Although it may not be in public view, Heytan stated that Israel will seek cooperation with its New Gulf partners to lobby the United States on issues such as Iran’s missile program concerns and support for regional agents.
Itan said, “Israel needs to consolidate the “Abraham Agreement” camp to put pressure on the U.S. government on the terms of a possible agreement with Iran and make use of it.”
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