Abu-Dhabi suspends visa waiver for Israel travellers to UAE

An Israeli worker in full hazmat suit sprays disinfectant on the boarding stairs of an Israir Airlines Airbus A320 airplane, at the Ben Gurion International Airport near the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv, on June 14, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic [GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images]

Hours after Israel’s announcement that travellers and returnees from Brazil and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would be quarantined, the UAE has suspended the visa waiver agreement for Israelis, Israeli media reported on Monday.

The visa waiver agreement between Israel and the UAE was planned to come into effect in February. However, the UAE suspension will continue until 1 July.

In a statement, the UAE dismissed reports that the suspension of the visa waiver agreement relates to the Israeli decision to quarantine returnees from Abu-Dhabi and Brazil.

“In accordance with the visa waiver agreement signed and ratified by the two countries, and in view of the efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the visa waiver agreement will be suspended until 1 July,” the UAE announced in a statement.

The statement added: “The suspension of the agreement was made in accordance with section 12 (2) of the agreement, according to which each party may suspend the implementation of the agreement, among others for reasons of public health.”

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