Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and Israel’s president invite each other to visit

The crown prince of Abu Dhabi and the president of Israel have invited each other to visit their respective countries, in the latest sign of a thaw in relations as heralded by the recent Abraham Accords.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and President Reuven Rivlin were “launching a new phase”, according to the official United Arab Emirates news agency, after Rivlin “expressed his deep thanks for the efforts made to sign the historic peace treaty”.

Israel also agreed to normalise relations with the UAE’s fellow Gulf kingdom Bahrain, where local disquiet about the tie-up has been more vocal, and with Sudan, which is currently ruled by a transitional military government.

This summer’s détente angered the Palestinian leadership, which lost experienced negotiator Saeb Erekat to Covid-19 earlier this month, but on Tuesday the Palestinian Authority (PA) said it would resume security cooperation with Israel.

This was suspended in May in protest at Israel’s annexation plans, but these have been shelved as a condition to establishing relations with the UAE and Bahrain, with PA president Mahmoud Abbas reported to have been reassured by Israel.