Diplomatic first : Israel to establish formal presence in Abu Dhabi, capital

Israel will establish its first diplomatic representative mission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the capital Abu Dhabi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem confirmed today.

Citing an unnamed senior official, Haaretz reported Friday that the mission would be accredited not to the UAE government, but to the International Renewable Energy Association, an international organization headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

Israel has had strenuous relationships with Arab countries in the Middle East since its foundation and does not conduct diplomatic contacts with them, with the exceptions of Egypt and Jordan, with whom Israel signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994, respectively. Local police there said it was carried out by Israel and the operation is widely attributed to its Mossad spy agency.

Israeli ministers had attended IRENA conferences in 2010 and in 2014, but did not take part in the years between them because of Emirati-Israeli tensions over the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a member of the Palestinian movement Hamas, in Dubai.

If opened, the Israel office in Abu Dhabi likely would be its only official outpost on the Arabian Peninsula. The official added that office space for the new mission has already been found and that it is undergoing final preparations before the formal opening.

In the past Israel has had trade delegations in Qatar, Oman, Morocco and Tunisia.