Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer secretly visited the United Arab Emirates on Sunday to discuss a possible visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a Hebrew media report.
Dermer, who was instrumental in negotiating the Abraham Accords deal that saw Israel normalize relations with Abu Dhabi, as ambassador to the United States has visited the United Arab Emirates since the new government was established. He was the first Israeli minister to do so.
According to the Walla news site, Dermer’s visit was also intended to reassure Abu Dhabi about some far-right members of the new government, particularly after a controversial visit to the flashpoint Temple Mount site earlier by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gwir. after. January.
The report cited two sources aware of the details of the trip. One of the sources told Walla that Tzachi Hanegbi, head of the National Security Council, was accompanying Dermer on the trip.
Netanyahu had been set to make his first official visit to the Gulf state several times before leaving power in 2021, but ultimately did not make the trip. His tour was also scheduled in January, but happened Cancelled In the wake of Abu Dhabi’s harsh criticism of Ben Gvir’s visit.
The visit, also condemned by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey, prompted calls for calm and to protect the sensitive status quo from the United States, France and the European Union, and was met with threats by Gaza-based Hamas. terrorist group.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits the Temple Mount on January 3, 2023. (courtesy: minhalet har habayit)
Netanyahu’s aides told the Ynet news site at the time that there was no connection between these incidents, and that the trip had been postponed for logistical reasons.
The Temple Mount is revered by Jews as the historic location of the two Jewish temples, making it the holiest site in Judaism. It is also the third holiest site for Muslims, who refer to it as the Al-Aqsa Mosque Complex or the Noble Sanctuary.
The unwritten policy governing the compound allows Muslims to pray and enter with few restrictions, while Jews can only go through a single gate during limited time slots and walk a predetermined route, police said. with, and cannot pray openly.
However, some signs pointed to a weakness in the Abrahamic Agreement – such as Lack of Emirati and Bahraini tourists In Israel – over the past two years – official ties between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi appear to be strengthening, even as there are waning concerns that the election of Netanyahu’s hardline government could affect relations.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan telephoned Netanyahu to congratulate him after the government was sworn in. According to a Reuters report, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan telephoned his newly inaugurated Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen to congratulate him.
MK Bezalel Smotrich (right), head of Religious Judaism at the Knesset in Jerusalem, meets with Mohammed Al Khaja, UAE Ambassador to Israel, on December 7, 2022. (courtesy)
Last month, the UAE ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Al Khaja, met with Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, and was photographed warmly welcoming Ben Gvir.
Smotrich has long advocated the expansion of large-scale settlements and the annexation of large parts of the West Bank without granting equal rights to Palestinians in those areas.
The United Arab Emirates initiated the Abraham Accords in exchange for a promise by Netanyahu’s then-government not to proceed with the planned annexation of swaths of the West Bank.
Tobias Siegel and Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
