Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on August 13 that they were full diplomatic relations, in a deal negotiated through the United States that also required Israel to suspend its plan to annex parts of the West Bank.
Pompeo took off on Tuesday on the first official direct flight between Israel – he met with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi – and Sudan.
From there, he will travel to Bahrain, before traveling to Abu Dhabi to speak with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan about the Israel-UAE agreement and other regional issues, according to the department. of State. Authorities said stopovers in Oman and Qatar were also possible.
Pompeo will be followed to several of the same destinations later this week via White House adviser Jared Kushner, diplomats said.
Pompeo and Kushner’s trips are expected to result in any quick announcements of progress, but either one aims to tap into the good fortune of the Israel-UAE deal by finalizing at least one, and potentially more, normalization agreements between the Arab countries and Israel at the close. to the future. future.