New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he “secretly visited” the United Arab Emirates and met the country’s President Sheikh Mohamed
bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the recent war with Iran. “This visit has led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile the UAE foreign ministry denied the Israeli claims and said the news of the visit were “entirely unfounded”, insisting that the relations between the two countries were not based on “unofficial arrangements”.
Of competing claims
During the recent, and in most respects ongoing, war between Iran and the US-Israel alliance, Tehran hit several targets in the UAE as part of its retaliatory attacks against Israeli attacks on Tehran. Apart from the direct military attacks, Tehran also has consistently criticised UAE, among other Gulf nations, for its close ties with the US and Israel.
As to the specifics of the meeting between Netanyahu and MBZ the specifics remain contested. Meanwhile Reuters quoted a source as saying the meeting between Netanyahu and the Emirati president took place in Al-Ain, an oasis city near the border with Oman, and lasted several hours. A source further told the news agency that the Mossad director, David Barnea, made at least two visits to the UAE during the war with Iran to coordinate military actions. This visit was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
In its statement, the country’s foreign ministry denied reports of the alleged visit by Netanyahu or any other Israeli military personnel to the UAE. “The UAE reaffirms that its relations with Israel are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements,” it said.
Building close ties
In 2020, the UAE was the first Islamic country to sign the “Abraham accords”, an agreement normalising relations with Israel, a move which saw condemnation from several quarters in the Muslim world, including Iran. They form the basis of the relationship between the UAE and Israel, which is being stressed right now.
On Tuesday, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee also talked about how Israel has sent anti-missile batteries from its Iron Dome system to help the UAE combat Iranian attacks. Huckabee too used the example of the Abraham Accord and how it forms the basis of the “extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel” due to which the Iron Dome deployment was possible.
