JERUSALEM (JNS) – Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency director Yossi Cohen arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Monday for talks on the normalization deal between Israel and the UAE announced last week.
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A larger Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Abu Dhabi later in the week, but according to Israeli media reports it has been delayed by disagreements regarding its composition.
While Cohen is seen as having been instrumental in laying the groundwork for finalizing the deal, now that it’s public Israel’s Foreign Ministry reportedly wants to take charge.
On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke with his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.
“We discussed the latest regional developments, the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, and the need to strengthen ties between the countries,” Ashkenazi tweeted on Monday.
A day earlier, Ashkenazi spoke to his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During the call “they decided to establish a direct line of communication in advance of the normalization agreement between the countries and agreed to meet soon,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The UAE and Israel opened up telephone service on Sunday as part of the normalization deal.
Also on Sunday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen told Army Radio that agreements with other Arab states were on the way.
“Additional agreements will be reached with Gulf countries like Bahrain and Oman,” said Cohen.