'We thought they were Palestinian': Israeli police arrests two Emirati tourists in Tel Aviv

The Israeli police on Wednesday night appears to have detained two Emirati tourists walking on the streets of Tal Aviv "by mistake", according to a statement issued by the Israeli police. 

“The incident came after shots were fired on central Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street and the policemen suspected to Emirati men were Palestinians involved in the incident,” the statement said, adding that “once their identity became clear, they were released directly.” 

Allegedly two Emiratis were subjected to #Israel's racial profiling and arrested after a shooting in Tel Aviv yesterday - if you are Arab Israel will always treat you like a suspect https://t.co/a9Z9mEbQtY

— Dr Andreas Krieg (@andreas_krieg) August 3, 2022

The 27-second video showed an Israeli policeman who spoke English and asked the man forced to lie on the ground his name before the man, who said his name was Adel, was restrained.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel signed the Abraham Accords deal to normalise relations in September 2020, opening up direct flights between them.

Officially, commercial flights began in November 2020, with daily flights launched between the UAE and Israel in early 2021, months after the two countries normalised ties.

Since then, tens of thousands of Israelis have visited the Gulf state, especially Dubai.