Although Israel hasn't inked its peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates yet, the two countries have already started working on a number of joint projects.
Later today, the first-ever commercial flight will fly from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi carrying high-profile Israeli and American delegations, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises that ordinary Israelis will be able to follow suit soon.
In addition, one of Israel's leading banks, Leumi, is already mulling over cooperation with one of Dubai's establishments, the Ministries of Defence and Health are eyeing cooperation with peer bodies in the UAE on a number of important projects and the Jewish state expects to generate some $6.5 billion per year from the trade with the Gulf state.
More States in Line?
Netanyahu, reports suggest, will not stop there, with other Arab and Muslim countries expected to follow in the footsteps of the UAE in the nearest future.
It is hard to tell who will do so first. Bahrain, which has a tiny Jewish community and that has reportedly maintained clandestine ties with Israel for years, might soon "come out of the closet".
Oman has a new Sultan, and it is still unclear whether he will hold the same amicable views of Israel as did his predecessor.
Morocco and Sudan might also follow in the footsteps of the UAE, although US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent visit to the area indicated that these two countries preferred to keep a low profile when it came to relations with Israel.
Each has its own reasons for this. In Morocco, authorities are afraid of a backlash, whereas in Sudan the transitional government says it is not in the position to make decisions of such paramount importance as peace treaties with other nations.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu is certain that it is only a matter of time until more states will join the pro-Israel club and that means that his unwritten doctrine that he has been following for years now proves itself.
Netanyahu's Doctrine
That doctrine stipulates that Israel should not be sitting idly by, waiting for Palestinians to come to the negotiation table. For him as well as some Arab states that approach has exhausted itself.
Israel, in his opinion, should only negotiate from a position of power, exchanging peace for peace, instead of making painful concessions on land or Israel's borders.
To build that power, Netanyahu feels he needs to invest in strengthening Israel on all possible fronts.
Domestically, he preferred to concentrate on Israel's high-tech sector. Although it currently employs only 8 percent of the country's overall workforce and authorities don't pump much cash into that industry, relying on private investors, amount of exits went gradually up since Netanyahu took office for the second time in 2009.
Another sphere on Netanyahu's radar was Israel's defence industry. Over the years, Netanyahu has earned himself a reputation as 'Mr. Security', a man who dealt terrorism a decisive blow and who expanded his country's military ties with other nations, positioning the Jewish state in 8th place in arms exports in 2019.
On a global scale, Netanyahu opted for deepening ties with such big players as China and India.
With New Delhi, he bolstered economic ties, increased the turnover of trade, pushed up the amount of tourists and launched joint projects in the spheres of agriculture, science, IT, security and health.
Similar achievements have also be reached with Beijing, with which Israel boosted military and economic relations, bringing mutual trade to $9.7 billion in 2017, a significant spike from 1992, when relations between the countries were established and when joint deals stood at slightly more than $50 million.
Emphasis has also been put on developing and bolstering relations with the world's superpowers: the US and Russia.
Following Moscow's involvement in the war in Syria, Netanyahu chose to establish a direct channel with the Kremlin to avoid potential collisions in the Syrian skies.
In the US, the arrival of Donald Trump has played well to the hands of Netanyahu.
Under Trump's administration, Washington has recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, later moving its embassy to the disputed city. Then it acknowledged the legality of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, rolled out the so-called 'deal of the century' peace initiative that stipulated Israel biting off big chunks of Palestinian territories.
Building good connections with Washington, Moscow, New Delhi and Beijing, Netanyahu knew Palestinian diplomacy would have little chance to succeed in imposing its will, and now with more countries boosting ties with Israel, the prime minister tries to show that his doctrine to bypass Ramallah has proven itself.