Israel apologises to UAE after official blames Dubai travel for COVID spike

Israel has apologised to the UAE after an official blamed the rise in their country's COVID-19 cases to visitors returning from the UAE.

According to reports by the Walla and Ynet news sites, officials in the Prime Minister’s Office apologised to the UAE and said that comments by their head of the Health Ministry’s public health department were baseless.

Alroy-Preis allegedly said "in two weeks of peace with the UAE more people had died than in 70 years of war”, effectively blaming travel to the UAE for the rise in Israel's cases. 

After the resumption of peace between the two countries last year, thousands of Israelis have travelled to the Emirates and last week, Israel opened its embassy in the UAE.

يديعوت احرنوت: إسرائيل تقدم اعتذاراً لدولة الإمارات عن تصريحات لمسؤولة كبيرة في وزارة الصحة الاسرائيلية تضمنت ادعاءات كاذبة ربطت بين السفر لدبي وتزايد اعداد المصابين بكوفيد-19 في اسرائيل.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 29, 2021