Israel-UAE relations

The opening roundtable at the Negev Summit in Sde Boker on March 28, 2022; A general view of the West Bank settlement of Efrat on March 10, 2022. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin/Maya Alleruzzo)

January 24, 2023, 12:37 pm

Democratic senator says Abraham Accords can expand even if settlements do too

In ToI interview fresh off trip to the region, Kirsten Gillibrand also proposes offering F-35s to Abraham Accords countries that invest in aid for the Palestinians

By Jacob Magid

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer arrives at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on December 29, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 23, 2023, 8:24 pm

Dermer makes secret trip to UAE to nail down Netanyahu visit

Strategic affairs minister reportedly tries to allay concerns over far-right’s role in new government, particularly after diplomatic storm sparked by Ben Gvir’s Temple Mount visit

By Jacob Magid and TOI staff

The flags of Israel, the UAE, Bahrain and the US flying outside the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on September 15, 2020, in a tweet posted by Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, as Israel, the UAE and Bahrain sign the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington, DC. (Twitter)

January 9, 2023, 2:27 pm

United Arab Emirates to add Holocaust studies to its national school curriculum

US antisemitism envoy praises move, which will see primary and secondary school students learn about the Nazi genocide in history classes; says she ‘expects others to follow suit’

By AP and TOI staff

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits the Temple Mount, January 3, 2023. (Courtesy Minhelet Har Habayit)

January 5, 2023, 4:03 am

Palestinians urge UN Security Council to rap Israel over Ben Gvir Temple Mount visit

Israel lobbying council members not to adopt joint statement after Thursday session; US has blocked such measures in past, but diplomat speculates this time could be different

By Jacob Magid

Jews visit the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.(AP/Maya Alleruzzo)

January 4, 2023, 3:33 am

UN Security Council slated to meet on widely decried Temple Mount visit by Ben Gvir

Session unlikely to lead to formal censure but will reflect anger and concerns surrounding sensitive site, with one US official accusing far-right minister of trying to sow chaos

By Jacob Magid and AP

File: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with the UAE's new ambassador to Israel Mohammad Mahmoud Al Khajah at his Jerusalem office on March 2, 2021. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

January 3, 2023, 5:48 pm

Netanyahu’s UAE visit said postponed after Abu Dhabi slams Temple Mount visit

Sources deny connection to Ben Gvir’s visit to flashpoint site, blame logistical issues for delay of Netanyahu’s first official visit to the Gulf state

By TOI staff

January 3, 2023, 1:26 pm

Wave of international criticism after Ben Gvir visits flashpoint Temple Mount

Jordan summons envoy; condemnations from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt; calls to maintain status quo from US, Europe; Palestinian Authority PM: Plot ‘to turn Al-Aqsa into Jewish temple’

By TOI staff

Then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu meets with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in Tel Aviv on September 16, 2022. (Benjamin Netanyahu/Twitter)

January 2, 2023, 11:34 am

Netanyahu to make first official trip to UAE, possibly as early as next week

News of upcoming visit comes day after Emirati president called PM to congratulate him on new government

By Lazar Berman and TOI staff

Abu Dhabi International Airport in 2022. (CC BY-SA Moleoz/Wikipedia)

December 22, 2022, 7:26 pm

Israeli arrested in Abu Dhabi for unruly behavior given large fine and expelled

Nachman Gabai, who suffers from PTSD, required to pay $16,000 fine after clash with police outside city’s international airport

By Ash Obel

A rabbi and a member of the Jewish community light a candle for a menorah during a ceremony for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah at the Kharkiv Choral Synagogue in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on December 18, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergey BOBOK / AFP)

December 19, 2022, 9:05 am

Turkey’s Erdogan, India’s Modi and Ukraine’s Zelensky send Hanukkah greetings

Turkish president says unity of his country’s society sets example against antisemitism, Islamophobia; US, Britain and UAE also release messages at start of eight-day festival

By TOI staff

A Bahraini official walks through the Al-Qudaibiya palace in Manama during President Isaac Herzog's visit, December 4, 2022 (Lazar Berman/Times of Israel)

December 8, 2022, 2:58 pm

With doubts rising in Bahrain, Herzog seeks to get Abraham Accords back on track

Manama hints during president’s visit that it needs to see more from its economic relationship with Israel, while unlikely signs of hope emerge in next-door Qatar

By Lazar Berman

UAE Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja (L) meets with Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich at the latter's Knesset office on December 7, 2022. (Courtesy)

December 8, 2022, 6:03 am

After warmly greeting Ben Gvir, UAE ambassador meets with Smotrich

Emirati envoy continues engagement with senior, far-right members of next coalition months after his foreign minister warned Netanyahu against partnering with Smotrich, Ben Gvir

By TOI staff

Jewish Ukrainian who fled war zones in Ukraine wait to receive their entry papers to Israel, at an emergency shelter in Chisinau, Moldova, March 15, 2022. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)

December 7, 2022, 1:27 pm

Daily Briefing Dec. 7: How the same MK who fought for Soviet immigration may kill it

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman reports from a whirlwind 2-day trip to the Gulf with President Herzog; Diaspora affairs reporter Judah Ari Gross is back from Moldova

By TOI staff

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, right, greats UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, upon his arrival at the Hamad airport in Doha, Qatar, December 5, 2022. (Qatar Amiri Diwan via AP)

December 5, 2022, 1:27 pm

UAE leader visits Qatar for first time since start of Saudi-led blockade in 2017

Doha ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Than welcomes Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who later in the day is set to meet with Israel’s Herzog back in Emirati capital Abu Dhabi

By AFP and TOI staff

President Isaac Herzog lands in Abu Dhabi, where he is greeted by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed, December 5, 2022. (Lazar Berman/Times of Israel)

December 5, 2022, 10:43 am

Herzog arrives in the UAE after wrapping up visit to Bahrain

On second leg of trip to two Arab nations that normalized ties with Israel in 2020, president will attend Abu Dhabi forum on space exploration alongside India’s Narendra Modi

By Lazar Berman