TEL AVIV – The United Arab Emirates’ top diplomat on Saturday tweeted an article lauding an emerging Arab-Israel alliance, prompting a tweet from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he welcomed Israel’s warming ties with the Arab world.

“I welcome the closer relations between Israel and many Arab states. The time has come for normalization and peace,” Netanyahu tweeted on Saturday night.

I welcome the closer relations between Israel and many Arab states. The time has come for normalization and peace. أرحب بالتقارب الذي يحدث بين إسرائيل والكثير من الدول العربية. لقد آن الأوان لتحقيق التطبيع والسلام. https://t.co/xUTluWn62e — Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 21, 2019

Earlier that day, the UAE’s foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan tweeted to his 4.6 million followers with a link to a story in the UK’s Spectator titled: “Islam’s reformation: an Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape in the Middle East.”

The article discussed the Arab world’s realization that Israel could be a key partner both in trade relations and as an important ally in combating Islamism and Iran’s hegemonic aspirations in the region.

Islam’s reformation: an Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape in the Middle East | The Spectator https://t.co/uzJNi6GUsa — عبدالله بن زايد (@ABZayed) December 21, 2019

There have been several public manifestations of Israel’s burgeoning ties with Arab countries in recent years, including a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Oman in October 2018, followed by an announcement in July that a foreign mission would be opened in the Gulf sultanate.

A month earlier, Bahrain’s foreign minister expressed his country’s view that Israel is here to stay and that it hopes to make peace with it.

Israel will attend the Expo 2020 convention in the UAE city of Dubai.

A leaked clip from earlier this year showed the foreign ministers of three Arab countries defending Israel, including Al Nahyan, who is heard saying that Israel is justified in attacking Iranian targets in Syria.