UAE envoy meets with Mansour Abbas, Ahmed Dabbah on Arab-Israeli ties

United Arab Emirates ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja met with Arab-Israeli politicians Mansour Abbas and Ahmed Dabbah to discuss furthering cooperation between the UAE and Israel, the UAE Embassy announced on Tuesday via X (formerly known as Twitter).

“A pleasure hosting my good friend (Mansour Abbas) today. Thank you for highlighting potential projects and important areas for cooperation in the fields of culture, education, business, and sports in Israeli-Arab towns and cities across the country,” the UAE Embassy in Israel said on X. 

היה לי העונג לארח היום את חברי הטוב @mnsorabbas. תודה על שהדגשת פרויקטים פוטנציאליים ותחומים חשובים לשיתוף פעולה בתחומי התרבות, החינוך, העסקים והספורט ביישובים וערים ישראליות-ערביות ברחבי הארץ. pic.twitter.com/E9P7mdlchU

— Mohamed Al Khaja (@AmbAlKhaja) September 12, 2023

Al Khaja also met with Dabbeh, who served in Israel’s Knesset from 2012-13. 

“Today, His Excellency (Ambassador Mohamed Al Khaja) met with Ahmed Dabbah, a prominent Israeli-Arab businessman. We discussed methods of future cooperation in areas that mutually benefit the peoples of the UAE and Israel,” the UAE Embassy in Israel said in a separate post.

التقى سعادة @AmbAlKhaja اليوم مع أحمد دباح، رجل أعمال إسرائيلي عربي بارز. حيث تم مناقشة طرق التعاون المستقبلي في مجالات تعود بالنفع المتبادل لشعبي #الإمارات و #إسرائيل. نتطلع إلى ما يمكن تحقيقه معاً. #الإمارات_في_إسرائيل pic.twitter.com/WhacjC9K35

— UAE Embassy in Israel (@UAEinIsrael) September 12, 2023

“We look forward to what we can achieve together,” the Embassy declared.

UAE plays a hand in Israeli-Arab ties

Al Khaja, the UAE’s first ambassador to Israel, has been at the forefront of rapidly developing relations between the UAE and Israel since the 2020 Abraham Accords. 

Abbas, whom Al Khaja called his “good friend” and who served on Naftali Bennett’s coalition government from 2021 to 2022, has also been a proponent of improving relations between Israeli Arabs and Jews through grassroots measures. “The model that we are trying to create is one of the shared civil values that provide an opportunity for both peoples to live together,” Abbas told The Jerusalem Post in May.

“Tolerance is a universal, humane value that brings all people together without differentiating between religion, race, or sex. Therefore, even though I am a representative chosen to represent the sector who chose me, my commitment is to all of Israel’s citizens,” Abbas said.