Hebrew Channel: Close Aides to Netanyahu Very Angry at the UAE After Invitation to Lapid

Translation of SadaNews - The Hebrew Channel Reshet Kan reported on Friday that close aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are very angry at Emirati officials due to the invitation extended to opposition leader Yair Lapid to visit the country and meet President Mohamed bin Zayed.

According to the channel, as translated by SadaNews, they considered this invitation a political interference by the UAE in Israeli affairs.

Israeli officials criticized the Emirati behavior, stating: "It is unacceptable to invite the opposition leader to a meeting before the Prime Minister, and this is considered political interference."

They added: "Especially after the attack on Iran and the Prime Minister's decision, we expected a different course, but it seems that the fear of Iran outweighs wisdom."

According to the Hebrew channel, the Israeli Foreign Ministry learned about the details yesterday before the meeting took place.

It noted that the UAE did not publish any photo from the meeting between the Emirati president and Lapid, seemingly due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Both the UAE and Lapid only shared a personal photo from a meeting he had with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed.

It is noteworthy that the Emirati president also met several months ago with Netanyahu’s political rival, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, Netanyahu has not met with bin Zayed and has not made an official visit to the country, while his political opponents, including the opposition leader, have been invited to visit the Gulf state.