UAE launches entry visas for Israelis under normalization deal

United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Thursday it had launched tourist entry visas for Israelis, nearly three months after the two countries signed a historical normalization deal.

The UAE Foreign Ministry said that tourist visas had been activated for Israeli passport holders via airlines and travel agencies until procedures for ratifying a mutual visa waiver agreement are completed, the official UAE news agency WAM reported.

In mid-September, the UAE and Israel signed a deal brokered by the United States establishing official diplomatic relations.

In October, a UAE government delegation visited Israel and signed a set of economic cooperation accords.

Agreements already signed between the two countries include areas of investment, science and innovation, aviation and tourism.

The UAE and Bahrain became the first Gulf countries to establish official ties with Israel in September.

Palestinian leaders have reacted with outrage at the "betrayal" by the UAE and Bahrain.

The two Gulf states deviated from the general consensus among Arab states that a precondition for normalizing ties would be Israel's recognition of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Four Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan, now have diplomatic relations with Israel.