Israel on Sunday announced it had opened its embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following a normalization deal signed last year to establish diplomatic ties between the Jewish state and the Gulf country.

The embassy is the latest in Israel's diplomatic outreach to the Arab world, with a flurry of normalization agreements and new deals with four countries over recent months.

The embassy "will promote the entire relations between the countries and expand ties with the Emirati government, economic entities and the private sector, academia, the media and more," said the statement.

The UAE, along with Bahrain, signed a deal in September to normalize relations with the Jewish state.

The agreements, known as the "Abraham Accords", shattered a longstanding Arab consensus that there should be no normalization with Israel until it reaches a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians, while the Palestinians condemned the agreements as a "stab in the back."

The embassy in Abu Dhabi will be operating from "temporary offices" until locating a permanent facility, and Eitan Naeh, a veteran Israeli diplomat, will serve as the head of mission, according to the foreign ministry statement.

Israel and the UAE have already signed treaties on direct flights and visa-free travel, along with accords on investment protection, science and technology.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi welcomed the move, saying the embassy would "enable the expansion of bilateral relations between Israel and the Emirates for a swift and maximal implementation of the potential in these ties."

Ashkenazi also thanked the UAE "heir to the throne, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and my colleague and friend, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, for their leadership and hospitality towards our representatives."

UAE to open Tel Aviv mission

The UAE cabinet on Sunday approved the establishment of an embassy in Tel Aviv in Israel, also a first, state-run WAM news agency reported.

Ashkenazi welcomed the UAE decision, which he said "will advance the warm ties between the states and peoples."

Traditionally, most diplomatic missions in Israel have been in Tel Aviv as countries stayed neutral over the disputed city of Jerusalem until its status could be settled in an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

However, former U.S. President Donald Trump smashed that taboo in December 2017 by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and shifting the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv the following year.

Israel considers the city its undivided capital, while Palestinians see the mostly Arab eastern part of Jerusalem, including the Old City with its holy sites, as the illegally occupied capital of their future state.

Earlier this month, Sudan also signed the Abraham Accords, becoming the third Arab country to do so and the fourth to normalize diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in as many months. Morocco also normalized ties with Israel last December.

Until last year, Egypt and Jordan were the only Arab countries to have recognized Israel, in bilateral peace deals struck decades ago.

Also on Sunday, the Israeli government gave the green light to the agreement with Morocco, ahead of its final approval by parliament. The foreign ministry said its mission in Rabat as well as a consulate in the UAE's Dubai were due to open "in the coming days."

An Israeli embassy in Manama, Bahrain, has been operational for a number of weeks, the statement said.

(With input from agencies)