Israel’s spy chief visits UAE for security talks

DUBAI: Israel’s Mossad spy agency chief Yossi Cohen visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for security talks, Emirati state media reported Tuesday, only days after the countries agreed to establish diplomatic ties.

The head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service discussed "cooperation in the fields of security" with the UAE’s national security advisor, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, reported the official WAM news agency.

Cohen’s trip marked the first visit to the UAE by an Israeli official after the announcement last week by US President Donald Trump that the two countries had agreed to normalise relations. "The two sides discussed prospects for cooperation in the fields of security as well as exchanged points of view on regional developments and on issues of common interest" including efforts to contain COVID-19, the report said.

As part of the landmark deal, the Jewish state agreed to suspend the annexation of occupied West Bank territories, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan was not off the table in the long run.

Netanyahu last week called Cohen to thank him for the Mossad’s assistance "in developing the ties with the Gulf states over the years, which assisted in bringing the peace treaty to fruition," the prime minister´s office said.