Director of Mossad visits UAE after announcement of normalization agreement

TEL AVIV / ABU DHABI — The Director of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, Yossi Cohen, visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the details of the joint normalization agreement between the two countries announced on Thursday and set to be signed in the future in Washington, D.C.

An official Emirati source revealed that the talks centered around the opening of embassies in the two countries. It is clear for both parties that the UAE embassy will not be opened in Jerusalem.

The same source indicated that joint relations would be developed in several sectors, which would inevitably lead to the establishment of joint diplomatic relations.

However, despite the Israeli–Emirati agreement, Israel has reservations about some matters, especially the military ones. For example, Israel asked the U.S. not to sell the F-35 jet fighter to the Emirates.

“The Israeli government’s request took place due to Israeli concerns that any secret discussions with the Gulf state might lead to an agreement of selling sensitive military equipment without informing senior security officials in Israel,” wrote Haaretz, quoting Israeli officials.