Netanyahu, Herzog to attend climate conference in United Arab Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog have been invited to attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai this November.

UAE Ambassador to Israel, Al Khaja, handed a letter to Netanyahu from President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan officially inviting him to participate in the conference along with other world leaders.

This will be Netanyahu’s first visit to UAE since he was re-elected prime minister last year. Shortly after announcing that he would visit the UAE on an official state visit in January, the trip was canceled.

Israeli media speculated it was due to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount, which was widely condemned by Arab and Muslim countries, including the UAE.

UAE has condemned actions by Israel several times since then, including Israeli police clashes with Palestinians on Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa compound, as well as inflammatory remarks by Israeli ministers against Palestinians.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said that one of his main goals for this government is to build on the Abraham Accords by including other Arab and Muslim states.

The biggest achievement would be to normalise ties with Saudi Arabia, something Netanyahu has said he believes is possible.

According to a report by Axios this month, the U.S. is working hard to make a diplomatic push for a Saudi-Israel deal in the coming six months, citing U.S. officials with knowledge of the issue.