ByMATHILDA HELLER
Updated:

A permanent embassy for the United Arab Emirates is to be constructed in Herzliya, following a four-year search, Israel Land Authority and the mayor of Herzliya confirmed exclusively to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

“We welcome the fact that the building of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Israel will be constructed in Herzliya," Mayor Yariv Fisher told the Post.

Fisher added that he has met several times with the UAE Ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Al Khaja, in order to encourage him to choose Herzliya as the location for the embassy building.

"I am pleased that these efforts have borne fruit," he said.

Embassy plans moving forward

"The process of locating the land was complex and included negotiations with various parties," the Israel Land Authority told the Post, adding that the whole search began at the request of the PMO. "In parallel, the Authority began promoting a deal under which land within the jurisdiction of the Herzliya Municipality would be leased for the purpose of establishing the embassy building."

THEN-US PRESIDENT Donald Trump hosts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the foreign ministers of Bahrain (left) and the UAE, at the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House, September 15, 2020.
THEN-US PRESIDENT Donald Trump hosts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the foreign ministers of Bahrain (left) and the UAE, at the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House, September 15, 2020. (credit: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)

"The Authority views this matter as highly important and is working to adapt the planning issues to the needs of the embassy, dedicating the necessary resources to advance the project as quickly as possible with the relevant bodies involved."

Fisher added that his city has long-term plans to strengthen its ties with the countries of the Abraham Accords, "as well as with other nations that we all hope will join these agreements in the near future, in areas such as education, transportation, technology, tourism, and environmental quality: particularly initiatives that will strengthen understanding and the importance of coexistence and peace in the Middle East.”

The deal is valued in the tens of millions of shekels.

The Emirati mission has operated from leased sites since ties were formalized under the Abraham Accords. The UAE inaugurated its embassy in Tel Aviv in July 2021 inside the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange building, becoming the first Gulf state to open an embassy in Israel.

Relations have since expanded across trade, tourism, and technology, even as the war in Gaza has tested ties.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.