Israel-UAE relations

Wounded Palestinians are treated at Al-Najjar Hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, October 19, 2023, (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

November 7, 2023, 6:28 am

UAE says it will establish field hospital to treat Palestinians in Gaza

As IDF moves in on Hamas positions under Shifa Hospital, five planes take off from Abu Dhabi carrying equipment for Emirati initiative

By Lazar Berman

Rockets are fired from Gaza toward Israel, on October 16 2023 (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

October 16, 2023, 11:55 pm

Shin Bet head says ‘responsibility mine’ for Gaza failure; rockets fired at Tel Aviv

Secretary Blinken and war cabinet forced to shelter during salvos at central Israel, southern towns; IDF says searching on both sides of Gaza border for bodies

By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff

A photo of the first working group meeting of the Negev Forum in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi with the participation of the six founding countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Morocco and the United States. (UAE's Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry/AFP)

October 12, 2023, 2:42 am

New Arab allies navigate Israel ties, pro-Palestinian public opinion as war erupts

Abraham Accords signatories have been urging the need to protect civilians in conflict, but messaging may change as Israeli strikes on Gaza intensify

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (L) meets with his Emirati counterpart Abdullah Bin Zayed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, September 20, 2023 (Foreign Ministry)

September 21, 2023, 6:43 am

Israeli, Emirati foreign ministers meet to talk 3 years of Abraham Accords

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen sits with his Emirati counterpart Abdullah Bin Zayed in New York, receives invitation to COP28 climate conference in Dubai

By Lazar Berman

Israeli soldiers and settlers stare at the Palestinian village of Beita before evacuating the newly-established wildcat outpost of Evyatar near the northern Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank, on July 2, 2021 (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

September 14, 2023, 5:30 am

UAE envoy: De facto West Bank annexation unfolding, but our ability to stop it wanes

Israeli commitment not to enact its sovereignty over settlements in exchange for normalization with Abu Dhabi only extends until 2024, Yousef al-Otaiba says

By Jacob Magid

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

August 20, 2023, 8:57 pm

Minister says Israel may be open to Saudi uranium enrichment under normalization deal

Close Netanyahu confidant Ron Dermer says Jerusalem would ‘have to look at what ultimately is agreed upon’; Lapid argues allowing such a move would endanger Israel’s security

By Canaan Lidor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L)) and his wife, Sara, ahead of a flight from Tel Aviv to Paris on February 2, 2023. (Lazar Berman/Times of Israel)

August 13, 2023, 6:22 pm

Netanyahu to resume foreign travel in September after health pause

PM is refraining from flying for over a month after he was fitted with a pacemaker; will inaugurate Israeli equivalent of Air Force One in the fall

By Lazar Berman

Opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid (R) meets with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed in Italy, August 8, 2023. (Courtesy: Yair Lapid's office)

August 8, 2023, 11:57 pm

Lapid meets UAE foreign minister in Italy, amid hiatus in high-level visits

Questions arise around funding for opposition leader’s flight; no senior Emiratis have been in Israel since Netanyahu came to power

By Lazar Berman

A Palestinian throws a stone at an armored IDF vehicle during a military operation in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, July 3, 2023. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/ AFP)

July 4, 2023, 12:14 am

PA freezes all ties with Israel over Jenin raid, as US urges closer cooperation

Abbas calls for Palestinians to immediately halt contacts with Israeli side to protest ‘aggression’; US backs Israel’s defense against terror, urges avoidance of civilian deaths

By Jacob Magid and Alexander Fulbright

Smoke rises during an Israeli military raid in Jenin on Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

July 3, 2023, 6:06 pm

Strained ties with allies could imperil IDF freedom to operate in Jenin

While US, Arab allies understand the need to fight terrorism, the potential for escalation remains high; moreover, operation could be seen as serving far-right

By Lazar Berman

(Left to right) Prof. Yitshak Kreiss, director general of Sheba Medical Center; Mohamed Al Khaja, UAE ambassador to Israel; and Rashid Al Qubaisi, group chief corporate officer at PureHealth, in June 2023. (Courtesy of Sheba Medical Center)

June 20, 2023, 9:47 am

Sheba Medical Center enters partnership with largest UAE healthcare system

Agreement with PureHealth involves joint research, medical training, tech collaboration and medical tourism, as cooperation between fresh allies deepens

By Renee Ghert-Zand

Members of the Armenian community protest a contentious deal to hand over a large section of the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem for a hotel project, May 19, 2023. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

June 7, 2023, 3:37 pm

In Jerusalem’s Old City, Armenian community members fear eviction over land deal

Outrage over sale to Australian-Israeli businessman partnered with Emirati hotel group prompts Armenian patriarch to go into hiding and leads to defrocking of broker priest

By AP and ToI Staff

US climate envoy John Kerry (left) and Energy Minister Israel Katz shake hands at a meeting in Jerusalem, June 2, 2023. (Oded Karni)

June 2, 2023, 4:15 pm

Visiting US climate envoy Kerry meets ministers on water, solar projects with Jordan

In Jerusalem, former top diplomat talks with Israel Katz about plans to swap energy for desalinated water, discusses moves to combat warming with Idit Silman

By ToI Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) receives an invitation to the COP28 climate summit in November in Dubai from Mohamed Al Khaja, the UAE ambassador to Israel, May 25, 2023 (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

May 23, 2023, 1:00 am

After months of delays, Netanyahu receives invitation to visit UAE for world summit

PM, along with Herzog, invited to attend global COP28 climate confab in November; individual visit by Israeli premier to Abu Dhabi was canceled months ago and not yet rescheduled

By Lazar Berman

President Isaac Herzog (left) meets with UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on December 5, 2022. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

May 9, 2023, 2:57 pm

How Israel came to the UAE’s aid after the 2022 Houthi missile strikes

Book on Abraham Accords reveals extent of Jerusalem’s security assistance to Abu Dhabi, unlike what Emiratis felt was lackluster support from the US

By Jacob Magid