Israel evacuates diplomatic staff in UAE over alleged attack risk

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Israel has evacuated most of its diplomatic mission staff from the United Arab Emirates after its National Security Council (NSC) cited an alleged increased threat of attack?from terrorist organizations.

The Israeli NSC reiterated an earlier travel warning it issued for the United Arab Emirates, published on the Prime Minister Office's website on Thursday.

"We are emphasizing this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organizations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel," the NSC said in its statement.

"Our assessment is that they are driven by heightened motivation to exact revenge following Operation Rising Lion, in addition to the anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian incitement which has intensified since the start of Operation Iron Swords, and even more so in response to Hamas' starvation campaign," it added.

The NSC statement also stated that past experience "has taught us that the terrorist organizations often focus their efforts in neighboring countries".?

In light of this, the NSC said, it is reiterating the possibility that the mentioned groups "will try to carry out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in the UAE, especially on Jewish holidays and Shabbat.

"It should be noted that the NSC's level-3 travel alert for the UAE, which was issued a while ago, is still valid. The alert strongly advises avoiding non-essential travel and seriously reconsidering travel to the country," the statement warned.

The NSC advises adhering closely to its recommendations as they appear on its website and discouraged large events and gatherings of Israelis or Jews, including visiting institutions, and encouraged the public to report to local security authorities any suspicious or unusual activity.

"Through the relevant organizations, the Israeli security system works closely with the authorities and security agencies around the world to counter terrorist threats targeting Israelis and Jews abroad," the statement concluded.

In September 2020, the UAE normalized ties with Israel through the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

During the almost two-year long war in Gaza, the UAE has, on several occasions, criticized Israel's conduct in the besieged enclave.

Last month, the UAE reportedly drew Benjamin Netanyahu's ire and accusations of "political interference" after Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid met with?Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs.?

As of this writing, there had been no statement from either the UAE or Iranian governments.