UAE hosts Israeli president despite regime's crimes against Palestinians

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday, despite the occupying regime’s continued crimes against Palestinians.

On Sunday morning, Herzog arrived in the UAE on the first such visit, more than a year after Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv signed a US-brokered normalization agreement that infuriated Palestinians, who condemned it as a stab in the back, and provoked a sharp backlash in the region.

Before leaving for the UAE, the Israeli president said he would be meeting the leadership of the UAE at the personal invitation of Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, claiming that he was carrying a “message of peace to the entire region.”

Herzog will also visit Expo 2020 in Dubai.

En route to UAE, Herzog's plane flew over Saudi Arabia, which he said was “truly a very moving moment.”

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the UAE for allowing such a visit, stressing once again its strong rejection of all forms of normalization with the occupying regime and its leaders.

Hamas, whose statement was carried by the Palestinian Information Center, said such a visit took place as the Israeli regime persistently violates the rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied East al-Quds, the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian resistance movement also warned that the reception of Israeli leaders in Arab countries will encourage Israel to commit more crimes against Palestinians.

The Israeli regime recently announced it would come to the aid of the UAE, supporting its military actions against Yemen. On January 18, Israel offered security and intelligence support to the UAE against retaliatory drone attacks from Yemen.

Since they agreed on the so-called Abraham Accords at the White House in August 2020, Israel and the UAE have signed a raft of deals in various areas, ranging from tourism to aviation and financial services.

Top Israeli authorities have already visited the UAE, but the regime’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was the most senior official who made the trip last month.

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