Israel ‘to open UAE diplomatic mission’

Israel’s foreign ministry says its office will be part of an
international energy organisation based in Abu Dhabi.

Israel has opened trade and other offices in some Gulf states
before, but there are no official ties.

The UAE, like most other Arab states, has not recognised Israel
since the Arab-Israeli conflict began in 1948.

Israeli
foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed a report in Haaretz newspaper and said the mission will be
accredited to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), of which
Israel is a member.

According to Haaretz, the foreign ministry’s director general
Dore Gold visited Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to finalise the plans.

It is not known when the mission will open.

The UAE, a federation of seven emirates, has not commented on
the reports.

The Gulf state generally bars
Israeli passport holders from visiting the country, although Israeli
sportspeople have participated in international events there.

Israel has
previously operated trade offices in the Gulf countries of Oman and Qatar,
opened in 1996 during visits by then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin also visited Oman in 1994.

However,
Oman closed the Israeli mission in 2000 in the wake of the second Palestinian
intifada (uprising) and Qatar ordered the office to shut in protest at Israel’s
2008-09 war in Gaza.

Israel and
the Sunni Gulf States have recently found a convergence of interests over Shia
Iran, which both sides see as a growing threat. – B.B.C.