An airplane of Israel’s El Al, upon its arrival at the Abu Dhabi airport in the first-ever commercial flight from Israel to the UAE, on August 31, 2020. (AFP)

UAE has no plans to travel to Israel following coronavirus lockdown, despite reports

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Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English

Published: 21 September ,2020: 05:29 PM GST Updated: 21 September ,2020: 05:51 PM GST

UAE officials have no current plans to travel to Israel, an Emirati source confirmed to Al Arabiya English Monday, denying reports that an official Emirati delegation would embark on a diplomatic visit on Tuesday.

Reuters reported last week that the UAE was planning to make its first official visit to Israel on September 22, citing sources.

However the Israeli government implemented a second strict coronavirus lockdown on Friday that is set to remain in effect for three weeks.

Last week Israel recorded daily highs of more than 5,000 new coronavirus cases, in a country with a population of an estimated 8.5 million people. Residents nationwide are now required to stay within 1,000 meters of their home, except for activities such as commuting to workplaces.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks outside Jerusalem's Old City after Israel entered a second nationwide lockdown amid a resurgence in the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases on September 20, 2020. (Reuters)

The first official Israeli delegation to the UAE arrived in Abu Dhabi alongside US officials on August 31.

The two countries signed a historic agreement at the White House last week, following the announcement of the normalization of ties on August 13.

The normalization of ties has led to many firsts between the two countries including an Israeli trade delegation visiting the UAE, bilateral meetings between foreign diplomats in Africa, and Abu Dhabi and Israeli film agencies collaborating on TV production.