Israel’s president said his country supports the Gulf state’s security needs and wants other countries in the area to join its new detente with the Arab world during his maiden visit to the UAE on Sunday.
In 2020, the UAE and Bahrain signed the “Abraham Accords,” normalization accords with Israel mediated by the US. Iran and its regional allies are a source of concern for the two Gulf States and Israel.
Isaac Herzog met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s de facto ruler, to discuss security and bilateral ties.
The UAE has in the past fortnight been attacked twice with drones and missiles, claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group. Israel has responded by offering security and intelligence support to the UAE against further drone attacks.
“We completely support your security requirements … We are here together to find ways and means to bring full security to people who seek peace in our region,” Herzog said during the meeting, in comments released by his office.
Sheikh Mohammed said Israel and the UAE share a “common view of the threats to regional stability and peace, particularly those posed by militias and terrorist forces”.
En route to the UAE President Herzog’s plane flew over Saudi Arabia, which Herzog said was “a very moving moment”. Riyadh has not yet followed its Gulf neighbors in normalizing ties with Israel, but Israeli officials express hope this will happen.
“The Abraham Accords should be continued and more nations should join us,” Herzog said.
Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, which opposes countries normalizing with Israel, said such visits “encourage the occupation to continue escalating its aggression against our Palestinian people and denial of their rights”.
The heads of the Israel Manufacturers Association and the Israel Export Institute, who were traveling with Herzog, discussed a $10 billion fund established under the Abraham Accords, as well as how the UAE could assist Israel in finding new Middle Eastern and Asian markets, according to the Association.
