Israel–United Arab Emirates relations

Israel – United Arab Emirates relations are pursued behind the scenes. Officially, the United Arab Emirates does not recognize Israel as a state, and the two countries do not have diplomatic relations.

Commercial ties

Abu Dhabi is negotiating a commercial deal with Israel that would grant it access to the Israeli-built Eros B satellite and its high-resolution imagery, in addition to services already received from the Eros A. In 2006, a contract was signed with ImageSat International, which owns and operates Eros A and B, which are essentially commercial knock-offs of Israel's Ofek spycraft. ^[1]Israel has operated an informal interest office in Abu Dhabi for several years.^[2]

Shahar Pe'er incident

In February 2009, Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er was denied a visa by the UAE, and thus prevented from playing at the Dubai Tennis Championships. A number of players, among them Venus Williams,^[3] condemned the visa rejection, and Women's Tennis Association chief Larry Scott said that he had considered canceling the tournament, but chose not to after consulting Pe'er. Tournament director Salah Tahlak said that Pe'er was refused on the grounds that her appearance could incite anger in the Arab country, after she had already faced protests at the ASB Classic over the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict.^[4] The WTA said that it would review future tournaments in Dubai.^[5] Due to the action, Tennis Channel decided not to televise the event^[6] and The Wall Street Journal dropped its sponsorship.^[7] The 2008 winner of the men's singles Andy Roddick chose not to defend his title, with prize money of over $2 million, to protest against the UAE's refusal to grant Pe'er a visa. "I really didn't agree with what went on over there," Roddick said.^[8]

Uzi Landau visit

On January 16, 2010, Israel's Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau attended a renewable energy conference in Abu Dhabi. He was the first Israeli minister to ever visit UAE.^[9]

Mabhouh assassination

The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on January 19, 2010 led the UAE to call for the arrest via Interpol of Meir Dagan, director of Israel's Mossad. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed any involvement. Dubai's Chief of Police, Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, stated that all travellers suspected of being Israeli will not be allowed into the country, even if they arrived on foreign passports.^[10]

References