Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to visit the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in February, Israel Hayom reveals. The Prime Minister's office is in discussions with Abu Dhabi and Manama to work on the two visits, scheduled between February 9 and 11, the same source wrote, quoting senior officials. Netanyahu is expected to meet with UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, and attend a series of economic meetings in Dubai. Then, he will make a six-hour trip to Manama, during which he will have talks with Bahrain's King Hamad and Crown Prince Salman. Israel Hayom, a newspaper close to Netanyahu, did not mention Morocco, even though the chief executive is so keen to see a summit with King Mohammed VI before the early parliamentary elections on March 23. For once, his Likud party is courting the Arab vote. Moreover, he himself chaired the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in cities with a large Arab population. Polls in Tel Aviv predict it will nibble up to two seats in this community, thanks to the normalization agreements concluded with Arab states. Netanyahu has been waiting since March 2019 for the green light from the Moroccan authorities to visit the Kingdom. In December of the same year, he flew to Portugal to accompany Mike Pompeo to Rabat but to no avail. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco as well as Sudan, established diplomatic relations with Israel during the Trump administration.
