Diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates trace their origins to the early days of the Oslo Accords, where Israeli and Emirati diplomats had contact with each other in the 1990s in Washington, D.C. The first diplomatic facility between the two countries opened in 2015, when Israel opened an official diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates formally agreed in August 2020 to establish diplomatic relationship in a United States-brokered deal that also requires Israel to halt its plan to annex parts of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley. The Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi was opened on 24 January 2021 with Eitan Na'eh serving as Chargé d'affaires. The embassy of the United Arab Emirates opened on 30 May 2021 in Tel Aviv, with Mohamed Al Khaja serving as the first ambassador of the UAE to Israel.
Since establishing official relationship in 2020, the relationship between Israel and UAE was strongly reinforced with public diplomacy, numerous signed agreements including reciprocal visa free travel in 2020 and free trade agreement in 2022, as well as expanded tourism and trade relationship until the diplomatic impact following the Gaza war.
History 1973 Yom Kippur War
The UAE became an independent country in 1971. The UAE's first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, referred to Israel as "the enemy" of the Arab countries during the timeline surrounding the events of Yom Kippur War.Hassan Hamdan al-Alkim, The Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates (London: Saqi Books, 1989), 175.
Origins: Oslo Accords The relationship between Israel and UAE started in the 1990s in Washington, D.C., where Israeli and Emirati diplomats had contact with each other during the timeline surrounding the Oslo Accords. The UAE wanted to buy advanced F-16 Fighting Falcon from the US, but American and Emirati officials were concerned that Israel would prevent the sale. Jeremy Issacharoff, an Israeli diplomat in Washington, D.C., and Jamal Al Suwaidi, an Emirati academic, met in Washington, D.C. Israeli and Emirati officials didn't agree on the Palestinian issue, but they shared a similar perspective on Iranian policy in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin would later inform the Clinton Administration that he would not object to the sale of F-16 to the UAE.
2010 assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh
The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh occurred in Dubai on 19 January 2010. Israel denied involvement. However, a Dubai Police investigation linked 27 suspects using camera footage, transactions on prepaid debit cards using the same type of card, phone call records who called the same number in Austria, and camera surveillance which showed two operatives using the bathroom facility at the same hotel to wear disguises. Dubai Police released a 27-minute footage showing operatives trailing Mabhouh. A total of 27 suspects who carried forged passports from Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, and United Kingdom were implicated, with many of the passport names using the names of Israeli dual citizens. This led governments to call Israeli ambassadors for diplomatic repercussion for the forgery of passports. Governments of Australia, Ireland, and United Kingdom also expelled Israeli diplomats. The UAE released images of the suspects and called, via Interpol, for the arrest of Meir Dagan, director of Israel's Mossad. The incident caused the unofficial Israel and UAE's diplomatic relationship to detoriate.
Iran nuclear program After the inauguration of US President Barack Obama in 2009, the Israeli and UAE ambassadors to the United States jointly urged the incoming administration's Middle East adviser to adopt a tougher line on Iran. Obama lifted sanctions on Iran after signing the JCPOA.Maya Rhodan, "Western Powers Reach Long-sought Nuclear Deal With Iran", Time (14 July 2015).
In September 2012, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New York City. Although they agreed on the threat of Iran, the UAE refused to publicly improve relations without progress in the Israel-Palestine peace process. In 2015, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, briefed his UAE counterpart Yousef Al Otaiba on Israel's opposition to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and urged the UAE to take a more active role in opposing the deal.
Close to the end of Obama's presidency, U.S. intelligence agencies became aware of a phone communication between the two countries' officials, including between Netanyahu and a senior UAE leader, and a meeting between Netanyahu and UAE leadership in Cyprus, which was focused on cooperation against Iran. After the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, both Israel and the UAE lobbied for a rapprochement between the United States and Russia to contain Iranian influence in Syria. In March 2018, Netanyahu met with Otaiba and the Bahraini ambassador to the United States at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., where the issue of Iran was discussed.The Times of Israel, Dinner diplomacy revealed: Netanyahu's genial encounter with UAE, Bahrain envoys On 10 October 2018, Dermer and Otaiba shared a table at the annual dinner of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, where they were seen talking to one another.Haaretz, Israel's U.S. Envoy Shares Dinner Table With UAE Counterpart in Rare Sign of Warming Ties
Expo 2020
In April 2019, Israel announced that it has been invited to take part at Dubai's Expo 2020 innovation fair.
2020 Abraham Accord
On 13 August 2020, Israel and the UAE signed an agreement mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump. Under the deal, Israel and the UAE will establish full diplomatic relations, with the UAE becoming the third Arab state, besides Egypt and Jordan, to fully recognize Israel. As part of the deal, Israel agreed to suspend plans for the annexation of the Jordan Valley. Director of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, secretly visited UAE several times for over a year to broker the Abraham Accord.
The agreement was made official with a signing ceremony on 15 September 2020 at the White House in Washington, D.C. The UAE's ambassador to the US and close adviser to Mohammed bin Zayed, Yousef Al Otaiba, was one of the main negotiators of the peace deal. Al Otaiba was one of the well-connected and powerful advocates in the US who was in contact with Jared Kushner, who was leading the peace deal negotiations. In August 2020, Al Otaiba released a statement praising the Abraham Accord as "a win for diplomacy and for the region" and stated that it "lowers tensions and creates new energy for positive change."
The Abraham Accords revealed the rifts in the relationship between Palestine and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Under a 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, Arab nations declared that Israel would only receive "normal" ties in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and an end to the occupation. However, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot warned that the longstanding policy had been undermined. A senior Palestinian politician, Saeb Erekat condemned the deals as a "tremendous encouragement for the Israeli government to continue their occupation". However, under the deal, Israel agreed to "suspend" annexation, but critics stated that the clause was only added as lip service to the Palestinian issue, while Israeli politicians argued that the annexation plan is still a priority.
Gaza War
Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, UAE foreign ministry on October 8 stated in a statement that it was "appalled" by reports Israeli civilians were taken as hostages from their homes and called the Hamas attacks on Israel a "serious and grave escalation". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed on 16 October 2023.
Despite the diplomatic impact of the Gaza war, the UAE maintained ties with Israel which allowed the UAE to establish a maternity field hospital, called Al Helal Al Emirati Maternity Hospital, in Gaza. Throughout the war, the UAE condemned the "Israeli continuous violations" and the deaths and injuries of civilians.
In August 2025, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to build a settlement that would divide the West Bank and disconnect it from East Jerusalem, undermining efforts for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Smotrich also declared that maps were also being drawn up to annex the West Bank. On 3 September 2025, the UAE warned Israel that annexation of the West Bank would constitute a "red line" that would severely undermine the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE.
Official visits On 16 January 2010, Israel's Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau attended a renewable energy conference in Abu Dhabi. He was the first Israeli minister to visit Abu Dhabi.
In January 2016, Israel's Energy Minister visited the UAE at the site of International Renewable Energy Agency headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
In September 2018, the UAE hosted secret talks in Abu Dhabi between Israeli and Turkish officials to discuss restoring relations between those two countries. In October 2018, Miri Regev, Israel's culture and sports minister, visited Abu Dhabi to watch the Israeli judoka team compete at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam where she also visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
On 13 December 2021, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited the UAE and met with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. This marked the first time leaders from both countries met with each other. The meeting, which included a shared lunch, went two hours longer than originally expected. Bennet stated that the meeting was about "the region, our economy and technology."
During the 2026 Israel–Iran war, Netanyahu's office said that Benjamin Netanyahu had secretly visited the UAE and met with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Al Ain on 26 March; the UAE denied that the visit had taken place. Mossad chief Dedi Barnea also visited the UAE at least twice during the war to coordinate military actions. Israeli media reported that Shin Bet chief David Zini had also visited the UAE for security coordination, although the reported visit was not officially confirmed by either side.
On 27 September 2026, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi at the invitation of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and met with him. Netanyahu was accompanied by the heads of the National Security Council and Mossad, his military secretary, and his foreign policy adviser. The UAE confirmed the visit the following day and said that the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen and develop them. Netanyahu's office said that the visit focused on strengthening relations between the two countries and regional challenges, while three senior Israeli officials told Reuters that the talks focused on Iran.
The Associated Press reported, citing people briefed on the meeting, that Netanyahu had asked Mohamed bin Zayed to deny a report that the Emirati president had warned him before the October 7 attacks. Netanyahu's office rejected the account, saying that the visit focused on bilateral relations and regional challenges. Ynet also reported that Netanyahu had met with representatives of several Middle Eastern countries during the visit. However, a senior Saudi official denied that a Saudi representative had attended, while Jordan also denied participation. Ynet subsequently corrected its report, stating that it could not confirm that such a meeting had taken place.
Travel