The UAE's ambassador to Israel arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday and presented his credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
Mohamed Al Khaja's three-day visit, which includes presenting "letters of credence" to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, is historic.
Mr Al Khaja arrived at the President's house to the Israeli Defence Force orchestra playing the UAE anthem.
Wearing a suit and black face mask and sporting a UAE pin badge, Mr Khaja made a short speech at the ceremony to welcome him to his diplomatic posting.
"The Abrahamic Treaty will remain a shining beacon in human history for all peace-loving people, as one that has created a new reality," he said.
"Today, the two countries have a common goal, which is to bring peace and security to the region and to spread a spirit of optimism and hope among our people."
The ambassador tweeted after his meeting writing he looked forward to further co-operation between the two nations.
The ambassador met Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi earlier on Monday. In a tweet he said the pair had "discussed bilateral relations between our two countries and the great growth that they have witnessed since the signing of the Abrahamic Peace Agreement."
Looking forward, he said he and Mr Ashkenazi talked about "ways to enhance co-operation in various fields".
Mr Al Khaja co-wrote an op-ed for The National on Monday with Israel's ambassador to the UAE, Eitan Na'eh, who met Mr Al Khaja last week.
"Six months ago, an Emirati and Israeli diplomat were unlikely to be seen together, much less co-author a newspaper article," they said.
"Opening up direct relations and embassies seemed even more far-fetched. But here we are now, an Emirati ambassador in Israel and an Israeli head of mission in the UAE in public, together, writing in one voice."
Relations between the UAE and Israel have blossomed since the countries signed the Abraham Accord last September, normalising ties.
Israel and the UAE lead the world in vaccinations against Covid-19 as their governments move swiftly to inoculate their populations.
In line with Israel's safety protocols, Mr Al Khaja was to take a Covid-19 test when he arrived in Israel.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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The five pillars of Islam
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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