Around 1,000 Israelis moved to Dubai since normalisation deal: report

Around 1,000 Israelis moved to live in Dubai in the past year, since the United Arab Emirates and Israel normalised ties in 2020, Israeli media reported Saturday.

"Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, the Israelis have fallen in love with the United Arab Emirates, especially Dubai, and quite a few of them have moved their lives there and work in tourism, hospitality, real estate and also in less legal things," Israel’s Channel 12 reported, adding that some of these businesses are run by Israelis.

It said the roughly 1,000 people who moved are part of a 4,000-strong Jewish community already living in the emirate.

"There is no doubt that the Abraham Accords… have made Dubai a centre of pilgrimage for Israelis. Many stayed there for long periods of time, and some have moved there," Channel 12 added.

The UAE, as well as Bahrain, established full diplomatic ties with Israel in the summer of 2020. It was followed by normalisation deals between Israel and Sudan and Morocco.

Israel and the UAE have been quick to cooperate in a number of fields, ranging from tourism to defence.

The deals have received fierce criticism from Palestinians who say such moves have harmed chances of establishing a Palestinian state and holding Israel to account for its occupation.