Dubai, November 11 (RHC)-- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to allow tourists holding Israeli passports to take part in the Expo 2020, which the Persian Gulf state’s biggest and most luxurious city of Dubai is going to host beginning in October next year.

“Israeli and the UAE's authorities have been in talks for a while, in order to allow those with Israeli passports to attend the Expo in Dubai,” an unnamed source within the Expo's management team told Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.  The source added: “These talks are happening because both sides want to see the Expo turn into the biggest exhibition in the world.  The UAE invested tremendous amounts of money and thought into the event and they want Israelis to be welcomed as well.” 

Another source said the Expo in Dubai could be a great pilot run during which Israeli tourists would be allowed into the country, and it turns out to be a step  the UAE “might leave its doors open to Israeli tourists permanently.”

Israel’s trade with Persian Gulf states is estimated to stand at around $1 billion annually, according to a study published by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in August 2018.

Hamas says the UAE's move in training with Israeli air force earlier this month encourages the Tel Aviv regime to continue its crimes against Palestine.