Israeli PM Bennett in snap UAE visit amid standoff with Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made a surprise visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, with the snap trip coming as efforts to salvage a deal over Iran's nuclear program are stalled in a deepening standoff with Tehran.
The visit was Bennett's second public trip to Abu Dhabi since Israel and the UAE agreed to normalize ties in 2020 after years of quiet cooperation, mainly over their shared concerns over Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Bennett's office said the Israeli leader will meet the UAE's president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and that the two will discuss "various regional issues." Iran is likely to top the agenda.
In a video statement before departing, Bennett commended countries at an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna on Wednesday that voted to censure Iran over its lack of transparency about nuclear activities at three undeclared sites in the country.
"We see here a firm stance by the countries of the world regarding the distinction between good and evil, as they clearly state that Iran is concealing things. We will not let up on this issue," he said.
The IAEA said Thursday Iran plans to ramp up its uranium enrichment, with the installation of advanced centrifuges. Advanced uranium enrichment is a key component in the manufacture of a nuclear bomb.
Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy and it strongly opposed the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, which eased economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear activities.
Israel says it wants an improved deal that places tighter restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and addresses Iran's long-range missile program and its support for hostile proxies along Israel's borders. Israel also says the negotiations must be accompanied by a "credible" military threat to ensure that Iran does not delay indefinitely.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents. The withdrawal caused the deal to quickly unravel.
Talks in Vienna over Iran's tattered nuclear deal have been stalled since April. Since the deal's collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges, and has a rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium. Israeli leaders have claimed Iran is just weeks away from accumulating enough enriched uranium to produce a nuclear weapon, though other components of a bomb are believed to be months or years away.
Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, though U.N. experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran had an organized military nuclear program through 2003.
Israel and the UAE agreed to thaw ties under the U.S. brokered agreements known as the "Abraham Accords," which saw similar deals struck with Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Since then, Israel and the UAE have deepened ties in tourism and trade, to the dismay of the Palestinians who long relied on an Arab wall of support to serve as leverage against Israel.
Bennett's trip comes as Israel is on the cusp of another political crisis, with members of his fragile coalition threatening to bolt unless the government can pass a law over the legal status of its West Bank settlers.
11 June 2022, 20:30
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The standoff consists of Israel pushing Iran over and Iran getting back up. It keeps doing it, which Israel considers deeply offensive. Israel has offered to teach Iran how to be polite, like many Arabs are. Recently, Israel awarded the coveted Prime Minister's Star for Political Niceness to the emir of the UAE, Ralph Somebody. The Israeli Minister of Information later quipped that, since there are seven emirates in the UAE, they ought to get a better name for their chief emir. The Palestinians rejoiced at the news. Israel Ministry of Information ההסברה (hasbara, publicity) Formed 1974, 2009, 2015 Dissolved 1975, 2013
11 June 2022, 20:39
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JP 28-12-2022 The Public Diplomacy Directorate – which will coordinate Israel's messaging and communication efforts between different government bodies – was officially re-established during Tuesday's National Hasbara Forum.
"After years of neglect that hit Israel in the international arena, we have re-established the Public Diplomacy Directorate, which will respond to the lies spread about Israel online and present it to the world as it really is," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on Facebook.
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The purpose of the Public Diplomacy Directorate will be to facilitate the synchronization of Israel's external messaging. By coordinating between different government public relations arms, the Directorate aims to ensure messaging is clear and consistent. In response to the rapid pace of news cycles and social media, the Directorate's re-established team hopes to develop quick and efficient responses to emerging narratives and communication challenges during both routine and emergency periods.
The Directorate, which is run from the Prime Minister's Office, is also supposed to ensure that there is no issue that remains unaddressed because no ministry or spokesperson's office sees it as falling within their purview.
11 June 2022, 20:41
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...Both leaders of the initiative, Ezra and Elad Tene – who is the head of Public Diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office – are veterans of public diplomacy and media.
Tene, appointed head of Public Diplomacy by Bennett in September, is a reserve captain in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, and former director-general of KAN's digital division. He was previously an editor at Maariv, NRG, Makor Rishon, and was involved in the founding of the ynet website.
Ezra is a lecturer on Israel and warfare who has used his experience as an IDF special forces veteran and a human rights lawyer to argue Israel's right to self-defense to audiences in Israel and abroad. Included by Forbes Magazine in its list of Israel's 30 under 30, Ezra has previously advised the defense establishment on international strategic matters during times of conflict.
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The National Hasbara Forum was attended by dozens of spokespersons and public relations departments, including from the Prime Minister's Office, IDF Spokesperson's Unit, the Foreign Ministry's Public Diplomacy Department and Israel Police.
The Directorate was originally established in 2008 by a 2007 Prime Minister's Office order, after separate recommendations by government secretary Israel Maimon and the state comptroller with Yarden Vatikai as the director. Vatikai was the director until 2018 and the position was vacant until Ezra's recent appointment.
