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Emirati FM, top security official take direct flight to Israel: Report

This file photo shows a Bombardier Challenger 350 plane backtracking before departure from Farnborough, the UK, to Dublin, Ireland on May 15, 2018. (Photo by Jet Photos)

UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the country’s national security adviser have reportedly paid a not-so-secret visit to Israel with a direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv.

The news of the direct flight first broke on Wednesday by Italy Blumental, a reporter working for the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, who said the Bombardier private jet had arrived in Tel Aviv after a direct flight from Abu Dhabi without stopping in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

The claim was later confirmed on Thursday by Israeli analyst Edy Cohen, who said the direct flight carried FM Abdullah and the Emirati National Security Adviser Tahnoun bin Zayed, the country’s top intelligence official.

He said the two Arab officials were residing in Tel Aviv’s Ritz Carlton luxury hotel in Herzliya neighborhood, and were even seen shopping at the local Arena Mall.

The visit was also confirmed by Syrian opposition figure Bassam Jaara in a post in his Twitter account.

This came a few days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took a tour of regional countries in a bid to unite Arab countries and the Israeli regime against Iran.

In an interview with Fox News on January 4, Pompeo was asked about an unofficial anti-Iran alliance between the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

“Undoubtedly. We have set the conditions in the Middle East where these countries are now working together across multiple fronts,” Pompeo said.

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Pompeo did not specify the nature of the cooperation, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently hailed the development of clandestine ties with unnamed Arab states and noted their shared hostility to Iran.

The alleged visit of the Emirati foreign minister to Tel Aviv was the latest indication of deepening rapprochement between the UAE and the Tel Aviv regime.

The outgoing chief of staff of the Israeli military, Gadi Eisenkot, reportedly made two secret visits in November to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with senior officials.

Israeli culture and sports minister Miri Regev also traveled to the UAE in late October to accompany Israel’s judo team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2018.

Her visit to the UAE marked the first of its kind by an Israeli minister to a Persian Gulf littoral state, during which the occupying regime's anthem was played and its flag was hoisted. 

Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi have no diplomatic ties and the UAE does not recognize Israel, but the two sides have increased backchannel cooperation in recent years. There have been numerous reports of growing contacts between Saudi and Israeli officials too.

The Emirates has already taken moves to approach Tel Aviv with speculations recently emerging that it has even involved itself in certain military operations by Israel on Gaza.  

In June, the New Yorker magazine reported that Israel had maintained a secret but extremely close relationship with the UAE for more than two decades, with a special focus on intelligence sharing and military cooperation, including potential weapons deals.

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