“This visit marked a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” Netanyahu's office said in a two-sentence statement, without providing further details, including the date of the meeting.
When the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, it responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel and the Persian Gulf countries, including the UAE. The Arab state has been attacked by more ballistic missiles and drones than Israel.
US Ambassador in Jerusalem Mike Huckabee confirmed on Tuesday that Israel sent an Iron Dome air defense system battery and staff to the UAE during the war. The weapons were intended to help repel Iranian attacks.
The director of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, visited the UAE at least twice during the war, in March and April, the Wall Street Journal wrote on Wednesday.
The media also reported in recent days that the UAE had secretly attacked Iran several times. At least one of such strikes was carried out in cooperation with Israel, Bloomberg reported. The government in Abu Dhabi has not confirmed these operations.
The UAE and Israel have officially maintained diplomatic relations since 2020. The relations were established as part of the so-called Abraham Accords – a US initiative during Donald Trump's first presidency aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries.
Since then, both countries have been developing economic, political and security cooperation. According to some accounts, Netanyahu secretly visited the UAE in 2018 to meet with President Zayed, wrote the Times of Israel website.
