Israel will not stamp Passports of Tourists traveling from Dubai

According to Foreign Ministry in Tel-Aviv, Israel will likely not stamp passports of tourists traveling to the country from the United Arab Emirates.

Israel and the UAE announced a historic agreement to normalize relation, with plans to open up tourism and direct flights between the countries.

Now Israel has peace agreements with three out of the 22 Arab countries, namely Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

In general, tourists arriving to Israel are not required to have their passports stamped at border control, but rather receive a paper note which can then be used to enter Israel.

Israeli foreign ministry deputy spokesman Nizar Amer told Al Arabiya English this when asked about whether Israel will stamp passports from visitors from Dubai.

Israel stamping a UAE passport would be significant as certain Arab countries, such as Lebanon, place entry restrictions on people with Israeli stamps in their passports.

The United Arab Emirates has previously allowed entry to tourists with Israeli stamps in their passports and Israeli citizens have been allowed to enter the UAE if using a non-Israeli passport.

However the UAE already made an exception last December when it announced it would allow Israelis to enter the country using their Israeli passports for the 2020 World Expo, which has since been delayed a year due to the Corona-virus pandemic.

This week has seen major developments in UAE-Israel relations. On Tuesday, UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Yossi Cohen, head of Israel’s foreign intelligence, the Mossad.

UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi “inaugurated a phone link between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel following the historic Abraham Peace Accord.

However, halting the annexation of the West Bank was the United Arab Emirates’ top priority in its “historic” deal with Israel to normalize relations between the two countries, top UAE official Hend al-Otaiba told Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

Annexation of the West Bank has made headlines in recent months as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz had announced they would begin to stake claim on approximately 30% of West Bank territory as soon as July 1, 2020.

Another “key component of the accord” is the issuance of visas and the establishment of travel between the two countries, according to al-Otaiba, who pointed out Israel was expected to be present at Expo 2020 Dubai, which was rescheduled for 2021 due to the Corona-virus outbreak.

“We expect both air links and reciprocal visas to be established as part of the new relationship between our countries, and we hope to see many Israelis in 2021 for Expo Dubai, where of course Israel has already previously confirmed its participation.”

The UAE is aiming for a “more peaceful, tolerant and prosperous Middle East,” which al-Otaiba said can’t “happen without resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The UAE hopes to see an end to the “violence and suffering” to the people living in Gaza and the West Bank and hopes for a day “when the Middle East is a model for the rest of the world, not a source of conflict and dead ends.”

The diplomatic agreement between the two countries is known as the Abraham Accord and it is Israel’s first peace treaty with an Arab country in 25 years, the last of which was signed between Jordan and Israel and was also mediated by the USA.

Israeli and Emirati delegations are expected to meet in the coming weeks to establish bilateral agreements on a range of issues including telecommunications, tourism, and healthcare.

Al Arabiya / ABC Flash Point ME News 2020.