Historic meeting between leaders of Israel and the Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met on Monday (December 13th) in Abu Dhabi with United Arab Emirates strongman Mohammed bin Zayed, a historic meeting which seals a "

" in the region.

Trade ties were at the heart of the talks, on the second day of Naftali Bennett's visit, the first by an Israeli head of government to an Arab Gulf monarchy.

The visit comes as the Jewish state pushes for continued sanctions against Iran, its sworn enemy and important economic partner of the Emirates.

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Naftali Bennett was received by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed at his private palace, where they spoke for more than four hours, according to Israeli officials. Mohammed bin Zayed "

bilateral

", according to the official UAE news agency WAM. The two men discussed "

" in "

”, still according to WAM. Naftali Bennett referred to him in an interview with theagency "

In the region and said to expect "

" in the economic sector with the Emirates.

Naftali Bennett arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday evening, more than a year after the signing of an agreement on the normalization of relations between the two countries on September 15, 2020. On that day, Bahrain had signed an identical agreement and these two countries became the first Arab Gulf monarchies to publicly normalize their relations with Israel.

Since then, the Emirates and Israel have concluded several trade agreements in different areas.

Iranian nuclear concerns

Naftali Bennett is also due to meet with officials from the technology, culture and investment sectors, according to a source from the Israeli delegation. "

" the source said.

Beyond the economy, Iran's nuclear issue is one of the common concerns of Israel and its new Gulf partners.

The region has been the scene of a diplomatic ball in recent weeks as talks on this issue are currently taking place in Vienna.

These indirect negotiations in Vienna between Iran and the United States, notably through the Europeans, resumed at the end of November in an attempt to resuscitate the 2015 agreement supposed to prevent Tehran from acquiring the atomic bomb.

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The United States withdrew from this agreement in 2018, reinstating its sanctions against Iran, which has gradually freed itself in response to restrictions on its nuclear program, raising international concerns even if Tehran denies seeking to build a nuclear bomb. .

Naftali Bennett urged the big powers to stop talks accusing Tehran of "

" and saying Iran would use any sanctions relief to bolster its military arsenal against Israel.

A normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab countries

The Emirates are maintaining a more cautious attitude towards the Islamic Republic. In early December, National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed visited Tehran, the first visit in five years by an Emirati official of that rank, and Iran then expressed the hope of opening a new page with the Emirates. On November 11, the Emirates and Bahrain conducted the first joint naval maneuvers with the Jewish state, with the aim of "

", according to the US Navy. Iran is regularly accused of carrying out hostile operations in Gulf waters.

The visit of Naftali Bennett was generally little followed by the Emirati media, the local and Arab population still remaining strongly in solidarity with the Palestinians and hostile to the Hebrew state.

In the Emirates as in Bahrain, criticism against Israel is not lacking but often stops at social networks, public condemnations against governments being rare in these countries accused of muzzling dissenting voices.

Normalization with Israel has broken with decades of Arab consensus ruling out the establishment of official ties without resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, beginning with the end of the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel.