Newly-appointed Israeli PM to visit UAE in October following normalizing ties

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Newly-appointed Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett plans to visit the United Arab Emirates in October to strengthen bilateral relations between the occupation state and the Arab country, Israeli media reported.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the delegation that accompanied Foreign Minister Yair Lapid during his visit to the Gulf country earlier this week said that Emiratis are interested in strengthening cooperation with Israel “as soon as possible.”

It also reported that Emirati officials are “very frustrated” about the lack of practical progress in bilateral relations in the ten months since the Abraham Accords were signed.

On Tuesday, Lapid inaugurated the Israeli embassy in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, the first embassy for Israel in the Gulf, and a consulate in Dubai.

As he spoke during the inauguration ceremony of Israel’s embassy in Abu Dhabi, Yair Lapid claimed that “Israel wants peace with all of its neighbors.”

“We aren’t going anywhere. The Middle East is our home and we’re here to stay, so we call on all countries in the region to recognize that and talk to us.”

Lapid’s trip to the UAE was the first official engagement between the occupation state and the UAE since the latest Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which started on May 10 and ended with a ceasefire brokered by mediator Egypt on May 21, killing at least 279 Palestinians, including 69 children and 40 women and injuring 1,910 others.

19 families in the Gaza Strip have been wiped off the population civil registry during Israel’s 11-day aggression, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, including 41 children and 25 women.

The UAE was the first country to agree to normalize ties with the occupation state under the Abraham Accords, a pact brokered by the United States, a move that was followed by Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

Palestinians condemned the normalization agreements, saying they encouraged Israel’s denial of their rights and do not serve the Palestinian cause.

Abu Dhabi said the deal was an effort to stave off Israel’s planned annexation of the occupied West Bank, however, opponents believe normalization efforts have been in the offing for many years as Israeli officials have made official visits to the UAE and attended conferences in the country which had no diplomatic or other ties with the occupation state.