Israeli journalist Ben Caspit highlighted the intense dislike that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed has for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a column posted in Al Monitor on Sept. 29. While Netanyahu pressed hard for the meeting last Sunday, the Emiratis are simultaneously seeking to engage with Netanyahu’s political rivals, high-level Israeli sources told Caspit.

“The political sources said that Netanyahu wanted the trip to project to Israeli voters the image of a world leader who is not internationally isolated and maintains high-profile contacts with Gulf partners,” Caspit wrote. “A diplomatic source familiar with the details of the prime minister’s visit to the country on Sunday told Al-Monitor ... that Netanyahu’s bid to secure the meeting was intense, ‘involving phone calls between officials on both sides, contacts via regional players and messages about the importance of current and future bilateral security cooperation.’”

Netanyahu “is not welcome in most countries in Europe because of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court to face war crimes charges,” Caspit writes, citing the diplomatic source. “His relations with most Middle Eastern leaders are strained by the wars in Iran and Gaza, the source said. Sheikh Mohamed was all he had left, and the UAE has not issued a single photo of the meeting.”