In July last year the UAE said it was withdrawing its troops from Yemen where it had jointly with Saudi Arabia led a Western-backed coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis since 2015. Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, has been ruled by 84-year-old King Salman since 2015. Both Saudi Arabia and Israel view Iran as the major threat to the Middle East. Palestinians seek a state on land occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war, with East Jerusalem, also captured then by Israel, as their capital. Bahrain, a close Saudi ally, and Oman, which hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018, have both released statements in support of the UAE opening to Israel.

Source: bd News24 August 14, 2020 12:11 UTC