Herzog closes his Gulf tour with a visit to the Emirates: "The Abraham Accords are a national consensus in Israel"
Isaac Herzog landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday, the latest destination on a regional tour of the Gulf aimed at consolidating the Abraham Accords. The Israeli president has made his third official visit to the United Arab Emirates since taking office in July 2021 to replace Reuven Rivlin. He first visited the UAE in January for the Dubai Expo 2022, and returned in May after the death of then President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. On this occasion, the Labour leader also sought to appease his partners in the run-up to the formation of a government in Israel.
The former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rushing to regain the premiership. Pending the official distribution of portfolios, the radical right of Religious Zionism will obtain a representation unprecedented in the history of the Hebrew nation. The risk that it will revive the already inflamed Palestinian cause may damage the commitment of its Gulf partners, who decided to concentrate their efforts on improving economic and trade ties by signing a normalisation agreement with Israel in the death throes of the Trump administration.
In this sense, Yair Lapid's electoral defeat is bad news. Although it was Netanyahu who initialled the agreement on the White House lawn in the company of the foreign ministers of the UAE and Bahrain, as well as former president Donald Trump, the outgoing prime minister has emerged as the main promoter of the Abraham Accords as Israel's chief diplomat in recent months. The leader of the centrist Yesh Atid proved incapable of re-establishing a coalition government after the poor results of the 1 November elections.
The Emirati foreign minister and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Abdullah bin Zayed, received the Israeli president on the tarmac of the airport in the Emirati capital. It was the fourth time they had met in just over a year, a good sign of the diplomatic closeness between the Emirates and Israel.
In addition to discussions with the foreign minister, Herzog had a late afternoon meeting with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed, who was visiting Qatar for the first time since the lifting of the blockade against the tiny Gulf country imposed in 2017 with the backing of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain. MBZ had hours earlier held a brief meeting with Qatar's emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, whose state is hosting the football World Cup.
"Pleased to meet my friend the President of the United Arab Emirates [Mohamed bin Zayed] in Abu Dhabi. The Accords of Abraham have taken off beautifully over the past two years, and our mission now is to reach cruising altitude: to further enhance the relationship," Herzog tweeted ahead of his meeting with the country's de facto ruler even before his father's death last May.
"The Abraham Accords are a national consensus in Israel, on all sides of the political spectrum," said Herzog, who sought to reassure his Emirati partner. Any government that comes out of the ballot box will be respectful of the signed covenants, even if the Jewish supremacists of Religious Zionism take over important ministries, said the Labour leader, who was rumoured in the local press to have tried to push for a National Unity Executive to avoid the extremes of the parliamentary spectrum.
Prior to his meeting with MBZ, Herzog gave the keynote speech at the Space Exploration Policy Forum, where he was joined by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In this field, the Israeli and Emirati governments have strengthened their cooperation to put their respective countries at the forefront. This was underlined by Herzog, who said he was "especially proud" of the scientific partnership with Abu Dhabi. "Our two countries are boldly leading our region into new frontiers in space and making our mark on history," he said.
Herzog was impressed by the UAE's achievements in space. "The UAE] is a perfect match for Israel, a world leader in miniature satellite technologies, high-resolution and remote sensing capabilities, and cybersecurity in space," the Labour leader said.
Deeply moving to hear Hatikvah, our national anthem, in Bahrain next to His Majesty the King. We must strengthen our alliances for peace and bring more states and nations into the circle of peace in our region. Inshallah! pic.twitter.com/rbPby23sdQ
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) December 4, 2022
Herzog was coming from his first visit to Bahrain, one of the signatories of the Abraham Accords along with the Emirates, Morocco and Sudan. No Israeli head of state had ever before visited the Gulf monarchy. At the Al-Qudaibiya Palace in Manama, the Jewish President met with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and then with Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad.
On his arrival at the head of state's residence, the Israeli anthem was played, an event described by the press as "historic". "Deeply moving to hear Hatikvah, our national anthem, in Bahrain with His Majesty the King. We must strengthen our partnerships for peace and bring more states and nations into the circle of peace in our region," tweeted Herzog, who, in an article published in The Times of Israel, wrote that the aim of the visit was to translate the terms of the Abraham Accords into tangible benefits for the citizens of Israel. The agenda of Israel and its Gulf partners coincides with curbing the threat from Iran and deepening their economic and trade ties.
