The United Arab Emirates rejected attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to squeeze in his first trip to the Gulf state before next week’s election.
Netanyahu had been working on a visit to Abu Dhabi and a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday, a week after his planned trip was postponed for the first time.
Gargash’s statement was unusually candid for someone close to the decision-making in Abu Dhabi.
Netanyahu denied that a trip had been planned for this week, telling Radio Galey Israel: “I’m not going to Abu Dhabi before the election. It’s spin. I don’t know who spread it.”
However, Emirati sources stated otherwise, and Netanyahu’s schedule had been cleared of political events on Thursday. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Likud campaign did not deny reports the prime minister was planning such a trip, though they did not confirm it either.
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 was 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.
