Washington (Kavian Press) – First UAE delegation arrived to Israel on Tuesday and welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Finance Minister Israel Katz at Ben Gurion Airport.
The five-hour visit which will involve signing of a number of agreements comes after the two countries signed an agreement at the White House to normalize ties last month.
According to an Israeli government statement, the two sides will sign agreements on aviation, investment protection, and science and technology.
Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu said both countries have also agreed to a reciprocal visa-free travel arrangement, making Emirati citizens the first in the Arab world to not require Israeli entry visas.
The two governments are also due to sign an agreement authorizing 28 commercial flights a week between the countries, an Israeli transport ministry official said.
Palestinian authorities slammed the visit calling it a shameful act. Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said: “Such a visit will only encourage the occupation to pursue the gradual annexation of West Bank lands.”
Palestinians on social media have condemned the “double standards” of the visa exemption rule for Emirati citizens, noting that they are not allowed to move freely within and to the occupied Palestinian territories.
Under Israel’s color-coded ID system, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are not allowed to travel to the Gaza Strip, and vice versa. Palestinians with Israeli residency are subject to having their residency rights withdrawn if they live in the other occupied territories.
More than six million Palestinian refugees are not permitted by Israel to return to their homeland at all, even for a visit.
