DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates cabinet on Sunday approved the establishment of an embassy in the city of Tel Aviv in Israel, state media reported.
The UAE and Israel agreed to normalise relations in August last year. Since then Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have all agreed to establish ties with Israel in deals brokered in 2020 by the administration of former US President Donald Trump. No further details about the embassy were given in UAE media.
Israel’s government regards Jerusalem as its capital, although that is not recognized by most of the international community. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told his Israeli counterpart that the Biden administration will work closely with Israel on regional security issues and to build on the country’s regional normalisation agreements, according to a statement on Sunday.
“They discussed opportunities to enhance the partnership over the coming months, including by building on the success of Israel’s normalisation arrangements with UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco,” a statement on Sullivan’s call with Israel’s Meir Ben Shabbat said. He also extended an invitation to begin a strategic dialogue in the near term.
