Israel approves new UAE embassy tower in Herzliya, marking boost for Abraham Accords

The Tel Aviv District and Building Committee on Monday authorized the construction of a new United Arab Emirates Embassy in Herzliya Pituah, a wealthy seaside neighborhood located just north of Tel Aviv.

The embassy will be located in a new 15-story tower with some 15,000 square meters (161,000 square feet), which will include offices and residential units for the ambassador and other embassy employees.

The large-scale project will be built on a 0.6 acres site and was approved in cooperation with the Israel Land Authority. The site currently serves as a parking lot for public buildings. Israeli officials welcome the project, which they believe will strengthen the diplomatic relations between the UAE and the Jewish state.

The project is also expected to boost Herzliya’s status as a favored hub for foreign diplomats in Israel as well as the high-tech business community. 

Erez Ben-Eliezer, Tel Aviv District Planner at the National Planning Administration, assessed that the project marks “an important and significant development for Herzliya, the Tel Aviv District and the State of Israel.” 

“It enhances the business area’s international character, deepens global ties and will contribute to future cooperation,” he explained. “The embassy’s location in a well-connected business hub near Herzliya’s high-tech centers is fitting. With flexible planning and design, it will become a major landmark in the area."

Tali Morali, head of the Tel Aviv region for the Israel Land Authority, revealed that the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem had requested already four years ago to find a suitable location for the UAE Embassy. 

“The process was complex and lengthy, involving negotiations with many parties,” Morali said. “We are now advancing an agreement to lease land within Herzliya’s municipal boundaries for the permanent embassy building."

Morali emphasized that the embassy construction project “reflects a careful blend of detailed planning and high-quality representative architecture. We see this as a national priority that strengthens the Abraham Accords, while emphasizing mixed-use development, accessibility, sustainability and environmental quality in the heart of Herzliya’s business district.”

In 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump brokered the historic Abraham Accords, which led to the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. 

The UAE was the first of the currently four Arab states to join the Abraham Accords. The diplomatic normalization agreement paved the path towards close commercial, tourist and scientific ties between the UAE and Israel.

In April 2022, the UAE and Israel signed a comprehensive free trade agreement, which boosted the expanding trade between the two countries. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomed the bilateral trade agreement at the time. 

“There will be more trade, more jobs and good products at lower prices. At my last meeting with the Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, in Sharm El-Sheikh, we agreed to accelerate the process and bring it to conclusion within days, and so it was,” Bennett stated. 

While the UAE Israel relationship remains solid, it has been tested during the Gaza war. Like much of the Arab and Muslim world, the UAE has criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The recent ceasefire has had a positive impact on Israel’s diplomatic ties with the UAE and the wider Arab world. 

The UAE has also voiced its opposition to a potential Israeli annexation of territory in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank. 

Last month, the UAE warned that an Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria will “irreparably damage” efforts toward “regional integration” of Israel in the Middle East region.