Israel held secret talks with Mauritanian officials in UAE - Lebanese report
A former Mossad official that currently serves as a special envoy for Netanyahu reportedly met with an advisor to Mauritania's chief intelligence officer
A delegation led by a special envoy from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office (PMO) met with Mauritanian officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the Lebanon-based Al-Khanadeq news site.
The pro-Iran, anti-Israel website claimed that David Meidan, a former Mossad official that currently serves in the PMO, met with an advisor to Mauritania's chief intelligence officer.
According to the report, the meeting was held at UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed's official residence in order to maintain plausible deniability that the secret meeting had ever taken place.
Furthermore, the meeting was arranged by Muhammad Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official who lives in exile in Abu Dhabi.
In recent months, Arab media has reported on Israeli normalization efforts with Mauritania, Somalia, Niger and Indonesia, as well as as several others in overt and covert meetings, and usually with the assistance or involvement of the United States.
Pro-Iranian media have attempted to sow discontent among its readers on the subject of the Abraham Accords and normalization of Arab and Muslim countries with Israel. It should be noted, however, that Mauritania already had relations with Israel.
The North African country recognized Israel in 1999, which made it the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to do so. A decade later, relations were frozen in 2009, following "Operation Cast Lead" in the Gaza Strip. And in 2010, relations were cut off completely.