A US-Israeli delegation left Abu Dhabi on Tuesday after a visit aimed at charting the relationship between the UAE and the Jewish state after their landmark deal to establish diplomatic ties.
The United Arab Emirates and Israel are expected to sign the US-brokered accord, Israel's first with a Gulf nation and only its third with an Arab state, at the White House in coming weeks.
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House advisor, led the delegation, which arrived in the Emirati capital Monday on the first ever commercial flight from Tel Aviv.
The Israeli press celebrated the direct flight.
"The flight of peace" ran the front-page headline of top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily, saying that "no matter how we look at it... this is a fascinating historic event".
The US is on a diplomacy drive to push more Arab nations to strike deals with Israel. Although none have yet announced such moves, Kushner said he hoped another would emerge soon.
"Let´s hope it´s months" as opposed to years, he said when asked by the Emirati official news agency WAM when he expected a breakthrough, adding it was "logical" that all 22 Arab states could one day follow suit.
Balance of power
The Palestinians have condemned the deal as a stab in the back by a major Arab player while they still lack a state of their own.
Before leaving on Tuesday, Kushner visited a UAE air base where the US operates F-35 stealth fighter jets.
Kushner said Monday that the US advance its military relationship with the UAE and that the issue would be discussed further in the coming weeks.
The two countries' national security advisors, Israel's Meir Ben-Shabbat and the UAE's Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, joined Kushner for the talks on cooperation.
During the visit they discussed cooperation in investment, finance, health, space exploration, civil aviation, foreign policy and tourism and culture.
Israel and the UAE on Tuesday signed their first protocol in banking and finance, according to Netanyahu's office.
"We will soon announce additional agreements in aviation, tourism, trade and others," the prime minister in a statement.
Israel also said that the two sides on Tuesday held their first meeting on the "possibility of the mutual opening of embassies", and that direct commercial flights between the Jewish state and the UAE will likely take off by the end of the year.
