The United States welcomes the historic opening of the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi

June 30, 2021 BaaghiTV: Israel’s new foreign minister inaugurated his embassy in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, according to foreign news agency Reuters.

Yair Lapid’s two-day visit, in which he will inaugurate the Israeli consulate in Dubai on Wednesday, is the first visit to the Gulf state by the Israeli cabinet minister since the establishment of state relations last year. The trip is also an opportunity for Naphtali Bennett’s two-week-old Israeli government, which heads an impossible cross-border alliance, to pave the way for diplomacy despite long-term negotiations with the Palestinians.

“Israel wants peace with its neighbors. We’re not going anywhere. The Middle East is our home.” “We are here to stay. We urge all countries in the region to recognize this and talk to us,” he said.

Relations between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, with common concerns about Iran and hopes for a trade deal, led Israel to withdraw from Israel under the so-called “Ibrahim Accords” developed by then-President Donald Trump’s administration. Relations have returned to normal, and Sudan and Morocco have since sought to establish ties with Israel. Lapid and his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, discussed building agreements to achieve peace and security in the region, the state news agency WEM reported.

They signed an agreement on economic and trade co-operation, which an Israeli spokesman had previously said would be the 12th since last year to strengthen ties. Welcoming Lapid’s visit, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington “will continue to work with Israel and the United Arab Emirates as we strengthen all aspects of our partnership and make it more peaceful for all.” “We will work to build a secure and prosperous future in the Middle East,” the State Department said. Conflicts at the regional level were frustrated by the Palestinians, who want their demands for a state free from Israeli occupation first.

According to an official report on Tuesday, President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the agreements as “an illusion” and insisted that the colonial powers allow Israel to disintegrate as a foreign entity in the region. And to keep it weak. Lapid’s plane flew over Saudi airspace. Riyadh, although not having normal relations with Israel, opened its routes to Israeli-UAE flights last year. Lapid will visit the site of Expo 2020 Dubai on Wednesday, the opening of the World Fair in October where Israel has built a pavilion. The UAE temporarily opened its embassy in Israel on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this month.

The Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi still has only three diplomatic staff and one head of mission. Its Dubai consulate is also located in a temporary compound. Lapid was at peace with former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose efforts to arrange a visit to the United Arab Emirates were hampered by the Covid19 sanctions and who sought to oust Bennett by declaring him illegal. Lapid thanked Netanyahu as the “architect of the Abrahamic Accords”.

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