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Updated June 29th, 2021 at 17:34 IST

'Peace isn't a compromise': New Israel govt opens up 1st embassy in UAE, thanks Netanyahu

The Israel embassy in Abu Dhabi comes nearly a month after UAE officially opened its embassy in Tel Aviv, appointing Mohamed Al Khaja as its ambassador. 

Reported by: Jitesh Vachhatani
Israel
Image Credits: AP/Yair Lapid Twitter | Image:self
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On the back of the historic Abraham Accords signed last year, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in the UAE on Tuesday and inaugurated the country's first embassy in the Gulf. Taking to Twitter, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid shared a picture of the Embassy in UAE and asserted that Israel is not going anywhere, calling for an end to the century-long brawl between Tel Aviv and the Gulf countries. The embassy in Abu Dhabi comes nearly a month after UAE officially opened its embassy in Tel Aviv, appointing Mohamed Al Khaja as its ambassador. 

Israel has appointed Zvi Heifetz as its special envoy to the Gulf countries. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who is on his first visit by an Israeli minister to the UAE since normalisation last year, will travel to Dubai tomorrow for the inauguration of another consulate there. 

Addressing the gathering at the 'historic' occasion, Foreign Minister Lapid thanked former Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu for his 'vision' and ex-US President Donald Trump as Tel Aviv set up its foreign mission in the Gulf. Stressing that the opening of the embassy was just the start of the peace process, Lapid remarked, "We are standing here because we chose peace over war." 

"Peace isn't a compromise. Peace is the victory of all that is good," Lapid said

On the occasion, Emirati Culture Minister Noura Al Kaabi highlighted Israel & UAE partnership on artificial intelligence, smart cities, COVID-19, trade, and tourism. Stressing on enthusiasm for Lapid's visit, the Emirati Minister signed off by saying 'todah rabha' - thank you in Hebrew. 

In the nine months since the two countries signed the normalisation agreement at the White House, Israel and the UAE have signed extensive trade and cooperation deals, and bilateral trade is already expected to have exceeded $354 million. More than 200,000 Israeli tourists have travelled to the UAE, the Foreign Ministry said.

Lapid took office as Israel’s foreign minister after Israel’s new government was sworn in earlier this month. The Yesh Atid party leader struck a power-sharing deal with Naftali Bennett, who became Israel’s prime minister at the head of a coalition of eight diverse parties, ranging from Jewish ultranationalists to a small Islamist party.

Israel-UAE normalisation of ties

Brokered by the USA, Israel and the UAE formally signed a deal to normalise relations in August 2020. The deal meant that Israel would have to halt its plans to annex parts of the West Bank while the Gulf country would formally recognise Israel. A joint statement issued by the UAE, Israel, and the United States said that the three countries had "agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates". However, the agreement was strongly criticised by Arab countries including Turkey and Iran. Following UAE, Bahrain also signed the Abraham Accords, formally recognising Israel as a sovereign state marking the public normalization of relations between an Arab country and Israel since that of Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

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Published June 29th, 2021 at 17:34 IST

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