The UAE hands Netanyahu an official invitation to attend the COP28 conference in Dubai

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — The United Arab Emirates invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 28) in Dubai.

The UAE ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Al Khaja, handed over an invitation to the President of the Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to Netanyahu to participate in the conference to be held next November, according to It was mentioned by the Israeli government media office, Monday, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog also received an invitation.

Netanyahu has not yet made an official visit to the UAE, despite his leadership of the process of normalizing relations with a number of Arab countries in 2020, while Herzog visited the Emirates several times over the past two years, and Netanyahu’s opponents, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, also visited the UAE.

And in 2021, the UAE was angry with Netanyahu for throwing in the name of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during the propaganda for his election campaign, and media reports indicated that planning for Netanyahu’s visit to the Emirates did not result in anything at the time.

Since Netanyahu’s return to power in December, the UAE has been vocal in condemning the actions of his cabinet ministers, including controversial visits by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the holy site in Jerusalem that Muslims call the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. The Jews call it the Temple Mount.