The Israeli government on Sunday approved the appointment of Yossi Shelley, the current director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, as the next ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Shelley, 67, is a confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a member of the ruling Likud Party. He has held a range of public posts, including as director general of the Beersheva Municipality and as ambassador to Brazil in 2017-21.
Israel’s Civil Service Commission approved the nomination on Thursday.
Netanyahu welcomed the appointment, saying that “Yossi served as a very, very effective ambassador in Brazil. He established connections not only with the president of Brazil but also with the Brazilian media and did a wonderful job there.”
The premier added, “He has also done important and challenging work at the Prime Minister’s Office during this period. I am confident he will do the same in the UAE.”
Amir Hayek—the Jewish state’s first-ever ambassador to the Arab nation—returned to Israel in October and the embassy in Abu Dhabi has since been led by a lower-level diplomat.
Netanyahu has yet to announce Shelley’s replacement in the Prime Minister’s Office.
On Sept. 15, 2020, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a peace agreement known as the Abraham Accords, at a ceremony on the White House lawn chaired by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and the ensuing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli-Emirati relationship seems to be the strongest of the Abraham Accords ties, with diplomats from the Jewish state remaining in the UAE, allowing the continuation of dialogue even as Abu Dhabi opposed Israel in international forums, experts told JNS in May.
