Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit the United Arab Emirates for the first time this week. An Emirati source said that the government is preparing for a meeting between Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the UAE’s capital on Wednesday or Thursday
According to a political source, Netanyahu cleared his schedule of campaign events for Thursday.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the Likud campaign would confirm.
Netanyahu has previously postponed four planned visits to the UAE since the Gulf state announced peace with Israel in August. Two postponements were because of COVID-19 lockdowns, and one because bin Zayed had a scheduling conflict.
Last week’s planned UAE trip was canceled after Jordan blocked Netanyahu’s flight in retaliation for an incident in which Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein canceled a visit to the Temple Mount, after attempting to go with a cadre of armed guards, contrary to prior agreements with Israel. Netanyahu then ordered that Jordanian flights not be allowed into Israeli airspace. Within several hours, before any Jordanian flights were actually blocked, Jordan agreed to allow Netanyahu’s flyover, but by then, Netanyahu and bin Salman agreed to postpone their meeting.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he expects Israel to make peace with four more countries in the region.
Netanyahu said he received a call from “one of the leaders in the region” on Monday night, and they spoke for 45 minutes.
In the past year, Israel normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Several countries are thought to have been considering following suit, including Niger, Mauritania, Indonesia and others.
Ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia have grown closer in recent years, and Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November. The two considered meeting in Abu Dhabi last week, but Netanyahu’s trip to the UAE was delayed due to a diplomatic imbroglio between Israel and Jordan.
