Israel issued Friday an official apology to the United Arab Emirates following comments of a senior health official who considered the surge of COVID-19 cases in Tel Aviv was due to flights to Dubai.
Commenting on the surge of infections in Israel, head of Public Health in the Israeli Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis said Thursday that "more people died in two weeks of peace with Dubai than in 70 years of war with them."
On Friday, high-ranking sources in Tel Aviv said the UAE complained to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, asking for an explanation on the comments made by Alroy-Preis.
Reports said Israeli officials apologized, stating that Alroy-Preis’ comments were merely “an unsuccessful joke.”
The Dubai Media Office on Friday shared the apology from Israel, stating: “Israel offers an apology to the UAE for the statements of a senior official in the Israeli Ministry of Health that included false allegations that linked travel to Dubai to the increasing number of people infected with Covid-19 in Israel.”
