President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan looks on during a meeting with French President in the United Arab Emirates in 2022. The President has just lost his brother, Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan CHRISTIAN HARTMANN/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday offered his message of condolences to the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan upon the death of his younger brother.
The death earlier in the day of Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi ruler’s representative, set off three days of mourning in the Gulf state.
“President Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, please accept my heartfelt condolences on the passing of your brother, Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. May you find comfort in his memory and may you and your family know no more sorrow,” said Netanyahu in a Twitter post.
The Israeli PM Netanyahu lost his older brother Lt. Col. Jonathan Netanyahu in 1976 when he was the only IDF fatality in the Entebbe rescue mission in Uganda.
The Presidential Court ordered flags to be flown at half-mast across the UAE’s seven emirates until Saturday.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalized relations in 2020 as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords and the coordination between the two countries has flourished in the subsequent years.
“With strong bipartisan support in the United States and praise from countries around the world, the UAE and Israel signed a historic normalization agreement in September 2020 that is transforming the Middle East. The Abraham Accords have led to new forms of cooperation in the Middle East and beyond. The signatories are committed to advancing these agreements to promote regional security, prosperity, and peace for years to come,” said the UAE embassy in Washington D.C.
“Since the Accords were signed, people-to-people contact is flourishing and generating accross all areas – from business deals to cultural exchanges, healthcare partnerships and joint scientific initiatives,” added the embassy.
In May, Israeli PM and author Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog received invitations to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, UAE scheduled to run from Nov. 30 through Dec. 12, 2023.
It would be Netanyahu’s first official visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate
Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager
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