Israel–United Arab Emirates Relations
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Diplomatic relations between
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
trace their origins to the early days of the Oslo Accords, where Israeli and Emirati diplomats had contact with each other in the 1990s in Washington, D.C. The first diplomatic facility between the two countries opened in 2015, when Israel opened an official diplomatic mission in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
to the
International Renewable Energy Agency The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organis ...
. Israel and the United Arab Emirates formally agreed in August 2020 to establish diplomatic relationship in a United States-brokered deal that also requires Israel to halt its plan to annex parts of the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, including the Jordan Valley. The Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi was opened on 24 January 2021 with Eitan Na'eh serving as
Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...
. The embassy of the United Arab Emirates opened on 30 May 2021 in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, with Mohamed Al Khaja serving as the first ambassador of the UAE to Israel. Since establishing official relationship in 2020, the relationship between Israel and UAE was strongly reinforced with public diplomacy, numerous signed agreements including reciprocal visa free travel in 2020 and free trade agreement in 2022, as well as expanded tourism and trade relationship until the diplomatic impact following the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
.


History


1973 Yom Kippur War

The UAE became an independent country in 1971. The UAE's first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, referred to Israel as "the enemy" of the Arab countries during the timeline surrounding the events of
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...
.


Origins: Oslo Accords

The relationship between Israel and UAE started in the 1990s in Washington, D.C., where Israeli and Emirati diplomats had contact with each other during the timeline surrounding the Oslo Accords. The UAE wanted to buy advanced
F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
from the US, but American and Emirati officials were concerned that Israel would prevent the sale. Jeremy Issacharoff, an Israeli diplomat in Washington, D.C., and Jamal Al Suwaidi, an Emirati academic, met in Washington, D.C. Israeli and Emirati officials didn't agree on the Palestinian issue, but they shared a similar perspective on Iranian policy in the region. Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...
would later inform the
Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...
that he would not object to the sale of F-16 to the UAE.


2010 assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh

The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh occurred in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
on 19 January 2010. Israel denied involvement. However, a Dubai Police investigation linked 27 suspects using camera footage, transactions on prepaid debit cards using the same type of card, phone call records who called the same number in Austria, and camera surveillance which showed two operatives using the bathroom facility at the same hotel to wear disguises. Dubai Police released a 27-minute footage showing operatives trailing Mabhouh. A total of 27 suspects who carried forged passports from
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, and
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
were implicated, with many of the passport names using the names of Israeli dual citizens. This led governments to call Israeli ambassadors for diplomatic repercussion for the forgery of passports. Governments of Australia, Ireland, and United Kingdom also expelled Israeli diplomats. The UAE released images of the suspects and called, via
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
, for the arrest of Meir Dagan, director of Israel's
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
. The incident caused the unofficial Israel and UAE's diplomatic relationship to detoriate.


Iran nuclear program

After the inauguration of US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in 2009, the Israeli and UAE ambassadors to the United States jointly urged the incoming administration's Middle East adviser to adopt a tougher line on Iran. Obama lifted sanctions on Iran after signing the JCPOA. In September 2012, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
met with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New York City. Although they agreed on the threat of Iran, the UAE refused to publicly improve relations without progress in the Israel-Palestine peace process. In 2015, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, briefed his UAE counterpart Yousef Al Otaiba on Israel's opposition to the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; (, BARJAM)), also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. The agreement was finalize ...
and urged the UAE to take a more active role in opposing the deal. Close to the end of Obama's presidency, U.S. intelligence agencies became aware of a phone communication between the two countries' officials, including between Netanyahu and a senior UAE leader, and a meeting between Netanyahu and UAE leadership in Cyprus, which was focused on cooperation against Iran. After the election of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
as U.S. president, both Israel and the UAE lobbied for a rapprochement between the United States and Russia to contain Iranian influence in Syria. In March 2018, Netanyahu met with Otaiba and the Bahraini ambassador to the United States at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., where the issue of Iran was discussed. On 10 October 2018, Dermer and Otaiba shared a table at the annual dinner of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, where they were seen talking to one another.


Expo 2020

In April 2019, Israel announced that it has been invited to take part at Dubai's
Expo 2020 Expo 2020 () was a World Expo hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Ara ...
innovation fair.


2020 Abraham Accord

On 13 August 2020, Israel and the UAE signed an agreement mediated by U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. Under the deal, Israel and the UAE will establish full diplomatic relations, with the UAE becoming the third Arab state, besides Egypt and Jordan, to fully recognize Israel. As part of the deal, Israel agreed to suspend plans for the annexation of the Jordan Valley. Director of the
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
, Yossi Cohen, secretly visited UAE several times for over a year to broker the Abraham Accord. The agreement was made official with a signing ceremony on 15 September 2020 at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
in Washington, D.C. The UAE's ambassador to the US and close adviser to Mohammed bin Zayed, Yousef Al Otaiba, was one of the main negotiators of the peace deal. Al Otaiba was one of the well-connected and powerful advocates in the US who was in contact with Jared Kushner, who was leading the peace deal negotiations. In August 2020, Al Otaiba released a statement praising the Abraham Accord as "a win for diplomacy and for the region" and stated that it "lowers tensions and creates new energy for positive change." The Abraham Accords revealed the rifts in the relationship between
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
and the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
and
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
. Under a 2002
Arab Peace Initiative The Arab Peace Initiative (; ), also known as the Saudi Initiative (; ), is a 10 sentence proposal for an end to the Arab–Israeli conflict that was endorsed by the Arab League in 2002 at the Beirut Summit and re-endorsed at the 2007 Arab Le ...
, Arab nations declared that Israel would only receive "normal" ties in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and an end to the occupation. However, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot warned that the longstanding policy had been undermined. A senior Palestinian politician, Saeb Erekat condemned the deals as a "tremendous encouragement for the Israeli government to continue their occupation". However, under the deal, Israel agreed to "suspend" annexation, but critics stated that the clause was only added as lip service to the Palestinian issue, while Israeli politicians argued that the annexation plan is still a priority.


Gaza War

Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, UAE foreign ministry on October 8 stated in a statement that it was "appalled" by reports Israeli civilians were taken as hostages from their homes and called the Hamas attacks on Israel a "serious and grave escalation". Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
spoke with UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed on 16 October 2023. Despite the diplomatic impact of the Gaza war, the UAE maintained ties with Israel which allowed the UAE to establish a maternity field hospital, called Al Helal Al Emirati Maternity Hospital, in Gaza. Throughout the war, the UAE condemned the "Israeli continuous violations" and the deaths and injuries of civilians.


Official visits

On 16 January 2010, Israel's Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau attended a renewable energy conference in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
. He was the first Israeli minister to visit Abu Dhabi. In January 2016, Israel's Energy Minister visited the UAE at the site of
International Renewable Energy Agency The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organis ...
headquarters in Abu Dhabi. In September 2018, the UAE hosted secret talks in Abu Dhabi between Israeli and Turkish officials to discuss restoring relations between those two countries. In October 2018, Miri Regev, Israel's culture and sports minister, visited Abu Dhabi to watch the Israeli judoka team compete at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam where she also visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. On 13 December 2021, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited the UAE and met with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. This marked the first time leaders from both countries met with each other. The meeting, which included a shared lunch, went two hours longer than originally expected. Bennet stated that the meeting was about "the region, our economy and technology."


Travel

There were no direct flights between Israel and the UAE prior to 2019, so all flights had to stopover in a third, neutral country (such as
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
), and no Israeli aircraft was allowed to enter UAE airspace. Restrictions were tightened against the entry of Israeli citizens following the
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
of
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
officer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, which was blamed on
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
. In 2012,
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
teamed up with Emirates, in a deal that involved Qantas flights stopping over in Dubai on Australia-Europe flights. Concerns were raised as to how the UAE travel restrictions would impact Qantas passengers who are nationals of Israel or travelling on an Israeli passport, for example, if such passengers had to stay overnight in Dubai for a connection. Qantas cancelled the deal in 2018. However, there are Jewish expatriates in the UAE, and there are Israelis with
dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...
who live, visit, and work in the UAE as citizens of other countries. On 31 August 2020, an
El Al EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. (), trading as EL AL (, "Upwards", "To the Skies", or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ) is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve ...
Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...
(4X-EHD) made a three-hour trip from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi over Saudi Arabian airspace to be the first commercial flight between the two countries and the first Israeli flight to be approved to fly over Saudi Arabian airspace. With Saudi Arabia allowing Israeli flights to cross its airspace and significantly reducing operational costs as well as flight times for El Al, the airline will become more competitive on routes to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and other destinations in the Middle East and South Asia. On 20 October 2020, Israel and the UAE announced a mutual visa exemption agreement, allowing Israeli citizens and Emirati citizens to go to each other's countries visa-free. On 4 November 2020, Emirati carrier FlyDubai announced that it would start direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai from 26 November, with tickets being offered on sale. This would mark the first commercial flight route between
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
and
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
. In January 2021, the visa-exemption agreement between the UAE and Israel was postponed, amidst the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
restrictions. The decision came after Israel mandated it for the Emirati travelers to quarantine as a precaution. The waiver agreement, which was supposed to be implemented on 13 February 2021, was suspended until 1 July. On 23 June 2022, Emirates began direct flights between
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
and
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
.


Trade

Prior to the normalisation of relations, some Israeli companies conducted business in the UAE indirectly through third parties. In June 2020, a trading association, known as the ''UAE-Israel Business Council'' (UIBC) was created by Dorian Barak, an Israeli-American investor and entrepreneur who had been working in the Persian Gulf region for the past decade, and Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, the Deputy Mayor of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. The association consists of over 3000 businesses, business leaders, professionals and public sector leaders from the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
and
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
with the express purpose to foster trade, innovation and cooperation between the two countries. The ''UAE-Israel Business Council'' mission is to build mutually beneficial relationships between
Emiratis The Emiratis (; ) are the Citizenship, citizen population of the United Arab Emirates. Within the UAE itself, their number is approximately 1.15 million. Formerly known as the Trucial States, the UAE is made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
and
Israelis Israelis (; ) are the Israeli citizenship law, citizens and nationals of the Israel, State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Israeli Jews, Jews and Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percen ...
, that advance business ties, investment, and cultural understanding. Key areas of cooperation include technology, finance, logistics and transportation, medical and biotech, agriculture, energy and water, professional services. To date there are over 250 UAE companies trading with the Israel, which is expected to rise to over 500 companies by 2021.


Policy forum

The Gulf-Israel Policy Forum was established in cooperation with the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
and is headed by founding member, Dan Feferman, a member of the Israeli policy research community, and Nir Boms of the Dayan Center. It includes prominent policy professionals, academics and government advisors from Israel, the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The policy forum acts as a hub for collaboration between policy makers and researchers in Israel and
Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf, also known as the Gulf Arab states (), refers to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi ...
. The Gulf-Israel Women's Forum was established as a division of the UIBC by Fleur Hassan-Nahoum and Justine Zwerling, with the goal to unite women from the Middle East in sisterhood, culture, friendship and business. On 9 October 2020, founding members Hassan-Nahoum, Daphne Richemond-Barak and Michal Divon met in Dubai with a prominent set of Emirati women for the first of several Women's Forum events. Such events focus on involving women from Israel and the Arab world in technology, finance, healthcare, media, culture and other sectors.


Free trade agreement

On 1 April 2022, the two countries concluded negotiations for a bilateral
free trade agreement A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating state (polity), states. There are two types of trade agreements: Bilateralism, bilateral and Multilateralism, m ...
, which will make 95 percent of traded products between them customs-free and will include food, agricultural and cosmetic products, and medicines and medical equipment.


Military cooperation

In August 2016, pilots from both the
Israel Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
and the
UAE Air Force The United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) () is the air force of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), part of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces. Its predecessor was established in 1968, when the Emirates were still under British rule. Since then, ...
participated in a joint Red Flag training exercise with pilots from
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
and Spain, in
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
in the United States. In 2017, the Israel Air Force and the UAE Air Force held a joint exercise with the air forces of the U.S., Italy and
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, in Greece, called Iniohos 2017. Another joint aerial training occurred at Iniohos 2019. After 2011, the UAE and Israel actively participated together on the Egyptian government's side against the
Sinai insurgency The Sinai insurgency was an insurgency campaign in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt launched by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which also included attacks on civilians. The insurgency began during the Egyptian Crisis, duri ...
. In late August 2020, reports claimed that Israel and UAE plan to establish spy bases on the Yemeni island of
Socotra Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...
. In August 2020, the UAE and
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
reached a historic Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement to lead towards full normalization of relations between the two countries. The agreement formally became part of the
Abraham Accords The Abraham Accords are bilateral agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain on September 15, 2020. Mediated by the United States, the announcement of August ...
involving the UAE and Israel and was signed on 15 September 2020. Security experts in Israel raised concern that the agreement was paving way for the Trump administration's proposed sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets and other sophisticated weaponry to the UAE. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
opposed the sale of the fighter jets, stating that Israel's position on Middle Eastern states, acquiring such high-end weapons, did not change. The UAE Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hend al-Otaiba commented on the link between the Abraham Accord and the proposed sale of US-made
F-35 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warf ...
fighter jets to the Emirates, by saying: "In terms of the F35s specifically, this request is not something that emerged from the current accord. Our request for the F-35 has been in process for six years now. Given that the UAE intends to be a partner to Israel, and already has a deep strategic partnership with the US, we are hopeful the request will be granted." Later in October 2020, Israel, in an apparent reference to the F-35, said that it will not oppose US sales of weapon systems to the United Arab Emirates. The establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries was said to be the result, most recently, of cooperation and talks between the UAE's National Security Adviser Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Yossi Cohen, the head of Israel's
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
.


Medical cooperation

In July 2020, the Israeli
Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI; ), is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government ...
and
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. () is an Israeli Defense contractor, defense technology company. It was founded as Israel's National R&D Defense Laboratory for the development of weapons and military technology within the Ministry of Defens ...
signed an agreement with the Emirati
Group 42 Group 42 () was a Czech Republic, Czech artistic group officially established on November 27, 1942 (though its roots date to 1938–1939, forming in 1940). The group's activity ceased in 1948 (banned by the government at the time), but its influ ...
technology company, to offer "effective solutions" to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In June 2020, the UAE's
Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...
landed at
Ben Gurion Airport Ben Gurion International Airport , commonly known by the Hebrew language, Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, i ...
, carrying a shipment of medical supplies to assist the Palestinians during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Later that month, Israel announced a partnership with the UAE to cooperate in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in their respective countries.


Cultural and scientific relations

In September 2019, the Abu Dhabi announced that they would open a synagogue as part of an interfaith compound by 2022 which also include a church and a mosque. On 17 February 2023, Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, the first public synagogue in the United Arab Emirates, was officially opened. On 13 September 2020, UAE's
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence The Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is a graduate-level, research-based academic institution located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It launched its first undergraduate program in March 2025. The current pres ...
and Israel's
Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on AI research. In January 2021, the Department of Culture and Tourism in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
announced the organization of the first virtual event that brings together Emirati and Israeli filmmakers on the annual "Qattara Cinema" program, under the agreement between the Abu Dhabi Film Committee, the Israeli Film Fund and Sam Spiegel School in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, where eight Emirati and Israeli short films will be released.


Sports events

Prior to 2009 the UAE had routeinly denied entry to Israelis as part of the Arab boycott of Israel. However, in 2009, UAE gave Israeli tennis player
Andy Ram Andreas "Andy" Ram (; born April 10, 1980) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player. He was primarily a doubles player, and competed in three Olympics. He is the first Israeli tennis player to win a senior Grand Slam event. Ram first ...
special permission for admission to the country to play in
Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Champ ...
. In February 2010, Israeli tennis player
Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er (, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation, ITF circuit in her career ...
was denied a
visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...
by the UAE, and thus prevented from playing at the
2009 Dubai Tennis Championships The 2009 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2009 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2009 WTA Tour. Both of the events took place at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The wom ...
. A number of players, among them
Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA for 11 wee ...
, condemned the visa rejection, and
Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. The association governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future fo ...
chief Larry Scott said that he had considered canceling the tournament, but chose not to after consulting Pe'er. Tournament director Salah Tahlak said that Pe'er was refused on the grounds that her appearance could incite anger in the Arab country, after she had already faced protests at the ASB Classic over the
Gaza War The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. The WTA said that it would review future tournaments in Dubai. Due to the action,
Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of tennis, al ...
decided not to televise the event and ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' dropped its sponsorship. The 2008 winner of the men's singles
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...
chose not to defend his title, with prize money of over $2 million, to protest against the UAE's refusal to grant Pe'er a visa. In October 2017, when an Israeli judoka Tal Flicker won gold in an international judo championship in the UAE, officials refused to fly the Israeli flag and play the Israeli national anthem, instead playing the official music of the
International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, accordi ...
(IJF) and flying the IJF's logo. The UAE also banned Israeli athletes from wearing their country's symbols on uniforms, having to wear IJF uniforms. Other contestants such as
Gili Cohen Gili Cohen (; born June 19, 1991) is an Israeli retired Olympic judoka. In 2013, she won the silver medal at the European U23 Championships, and she was a bronze medalist at the 2014 European Judo Championships. She competed for Israel at th ...
received similar treatment. In October 2018, the UAE reversed its position allowing the Israeli flag be displayed and anthem played when an Israeli judoka
Sagi Muki Sagi Aharon Muki (or Moki; ; born 17 May 1992) is an Israeli Olympic and former world champion half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Judo Championships – Men's 81 kg, 2019 World Champion. He also won the Judo at the 2015 European Ga ...
won a gold medal in the Judo Grand Competition, with the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport, Miri Regev, attending the events in Abu Dhabi. The
2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup (or commonly called the Asian Cup 2019) was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international association football, football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ...
held in January 2019 was another turning point. For the first time since the expulsion of Israel from the
Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...
, the UAE allowed Israeli TV channel,
Sport 5 Sports Channel (, ''Arutz HaSport''), also known as the Sport 5 (, ''Sport Hamesh''), is one of the major Israeli television company and sports journalism outlet owned by RGE Group. Available on cable (via HOT) and satellite (via Yes); the co ...
, to directly broadcast the tournament held in the country. This was seen as a sign of warming relations between two nations. Sport 5 officially broadcast the opening match between the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
and
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
, and had remained active until the end of the tournament. In March 2019, Israeli athletes participated in the
2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games (, ) were a special olympics multi-sport event for athletes with intellectual disabilities in the tradition of the Special Olympics movement. It was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from March 1 ...
, held in Abu Dhabi. On 9 May 2019, the first team sporting match between Israel and the UAE took place at the Netball Europe Open Challenge at the National Sporting Centre in the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
. In November 2019, 17-year-old Israeli Alon Leviev won the gold medal in the junior category at the Ju-jitsu World Championship, held in Abu Dhabi. In the same competition, Nimrod Ryder won another gold medal, while Ronnie Nessimian, Meshi Rosenfeld and Roy Dagan won other medals. In September 2020, Israeli
Dia Saba Dia Saba (sometimes Sabi'a or Seba, , ; born 18 November 1992) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa. Early life Saba was born in Majd al-Krum, Israel, to a Musl ...
joined Emirati club
Al-Nasr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...
, to become the first Israeli to play in the UAE and Gulf States, following the normalization agreement.


References


External links


Steven A. Cook, What's Behind the New Israel-UAE Peace Deal?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel-United Arab Emirates relations
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
Bilateral relations of the United Arab Emirates