Mossad Director Yossi Cohen arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Monday for talks on the normalization deal between the two countries announced last week.
Cohen has been credited with a prominent role in the negotiations on the agreement that will see Israel and the UAE forge diplomatic ties, was in Abu Dhabi for additional talks on the normalization deal.
A larger Israeli delegation is expected in Abu Dhabi later this week.
Last week, it was initially announced that Cohen would head the delegation to formalize the agreement. However, it’s currently unclear who will lead the talks, amid reports of internal disputes in Israel that could see the departure of the delegation delayed.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat would lead the preparations for the talks in coordination with all the relevant parties.
However, according to Walla news, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi’s Blue and White party wants the Foreign Ministry to lead it.
“There is no date yet for the delegation’s departure,” Walla quoted a senior Israeli official as saying Monday.
Israel and the UAE announced Thursday that they’re establishing full diplomatic relations under a breakthrough deal in a US-brokered accord. Israel had previously planned to unilaterally move forward with the annexation measures, on the basis of the US peace plan.
The agreement makes the UAE the 3rd Arab country, after Jordan and Egypt, to have full and active diplomatic ties with Israel. Thursday’s joint statement said deals between the UAE and Israel were expected in the coming weeks in such areas as security, trade and tourism.
The cabinet is expected to be briefed on the agreement on Tuesday, Walla reported.
Netanyahu conceded on Thursday that he kept his senior coalition partners in the Blue and White party — including Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, and Ashkenazi — out of the loop regarding the brewing normalization deal between Israel and the UAE, and said he did so at the request of the US.
