A telephone service between the United Arab Emirates and Israel began operating when the two countries opened diplomatic ties, as part of a US-brokered deal that required Israel to close its controversial plan to the West Bank. to annex.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan mentioned his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, in what Israel called an important step.
The UAE’s Israeli congratulations for “removing the blocs” Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Handel issued a statement on Sunday saying, “Many economic opportunities will now open up, and these confidence-building steps are an important step in promoting the interests of states. “
Associated Press journalists in Jerusalem and Dubai were able to call each other from around 1.15am on both landline and mobile phones registered with Israel’s country code +972.
Also on Sunday, Israeli news websites previously blocked by UAE authorities, such as the Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Post and YNet, could be accessed without using means to bypass Internet filtering in the Emirates.
In the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhs on the Arabian Peninsula, a recorded message in Arabic and English would typically play out prior to Sunday, saying calls to +972 numbers could not be connected. With the advent of internet troop, people were able to circumvent the ban, although these were also often interrupted.
Some in Israel used Palestinian mobile phones with +970 numbers, which can be dialed by those in the UAE.
The connection of telephone service represents the first concrete sign of the deal between the Emiratis and Israelis.
Israel and the UAE announced on Thursday that they will establish full diplomatic relations in the US-broken agreement.
The historic deal delivered a victory over foreign policy to President Donald Trump, as he seeks re-election and reflects a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about arch-enemy Iran have largely taken over traditional Arab support for the Palestinians.
Palestinians say it has reached a fair resolution of the conflict in the Middle East even further by undermining an Arab consensus that recognition of Israel comes only in exchange for concessions in peace talks. That removes a rare source of levy for the Palestinians.
The agreement will make the UAE the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have full, active diplomatic ties with Israel. The UAE and Israel announced it in a joint statement, saying that deals the two countries were expected in the coming weeks in such areas as tourism, direct flights and embassies.
Earlier on Sunday, the Emirates’ WAM news agency announced that a UAE company had signed an agreement with an Israeli company to investigate and study the coronavirus pandemic.
The move has sparked outrage among some who see it as a betrayal of years of efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state. In Pakistan on Sunday, hundreds of Islamists rallied to address the deal with Emirati-Israel. The Jamaat-e-Islami party shouted slogans against the US and burned Trump’s effigies. They also put American and Israeli flags in the battle.
The deal also scared Iran and Turkey, UAE regional rivals.
On Sunday, Iran’s military chief of staff called the UAE’s decision a “disaster”. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri urged Abu Dhabi to “review” his position.
“If an incident occurs in the Persian Gulf and the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran separates, even a little bit, and we see it from the UAE, we will not tolerate it,” Bagheri said.
.
