Jerusalem:
Israel opened an embassy in the United Arab Emirates Sunday, its foreign ministry mentioned, in a historic move 4 months following the Jewish state and the Gulf nation normalised ties.
“Today the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi has officially been opened, with the arrival of the mission head Eitan Naeh,” the ministry mentioned in a statement.
“The Israeli embassy in the United Arab Emirates will advance relations between the countries on all levels.”
The UAE, along with Bahrain, signed a US-brokered deal in September to normalise relations with the Jewish state.
The agreements, identified as the “Abraham Accords”, shattered a longstanding Arab consensus that there must be no normalisation with Israel till it reaches a extensive peace deal with the Palestinians.
The Palestinians condemned the agreements as a “stab in the back”.
The Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi will be operating from “temporary offices” till locating a permanent facility, the foreign ministry statement mentioned.
The mission will “expand the ties with the Emirati government, financial bodies and the private sector, universities, the media and more,” it added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi welcomed the move, saying the embassy would “enable the expansion of bilateral relations between Israel and the Emirates for a swift and maximal implementation of the potential in these ties.”
The foreign ministry announcement came shortly following the UAE mentioned its cabinet had authorized the establishment of an embassy in Israel, also a very first.
Ashkenazi welcomed the UAE choice, which he mentioned “will advance the warm ties between the states and peoples”.
Earlier this month, Sudan also signed the Abraham Accords, becoming the third Arab nation to do so and the fourth to normalise diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in as lots of months.
Morocco also normalised ties with Israel in December, in a diplomatic quid pro quo that saw Washington back Moroccan rule more than the disputed Western Sahara area.
Until final year, only Egypt, in 1979, and Jordan, in 1994, had normalised ties with Israel.
Also Sunday, the Israeli government gave the green light to the agreement with Morocco, ahead of its final approval by parliament.
The foreign ministry mentioned its mission in Rabat as effectively as a consulate in the UAE’s Dubai have been due to open “in the coming days”.
An Israeli embassy in Manama, Bahrain, has been operational for a quantity of weeks, the statement mentioned.
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