Israel minister causes crisis with UAE

Israeli Transport and Road Safety Minister Miri Regev stirred up a new crisis in Israel’s relations with the UAE.

Israeli media reported that the minister expressed her dislike of Dubai.

“I was in Dubai. I won’t go back there. I don’t like that place. But it is simply tremendous to see what they have built in six years,” Haaretz quoted Regev as saying.

Following Regev’s remarks, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen posted a tweet in which he praised Dubai.”I love Dubai,” he wrote.

Later, Minister Miri Regev commented that she spoke with the UAE Ambassador, Mohammed Al-Khaja, and explained to him that the media is trying to take her statements out of context.

Regev visited the UAE in 2018 before Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv formalised ties. She had been invited to attend the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Judo tournament to accompany Israel’s national judo team who were competing in the Emirati capital.

According to Israeli embassy data, more than half a million Israelis have visited the UAE since the Israel-UAE normalisation agreement was signed in September 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords.

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