In his file photo taken on August 31, 2020, the Emirati, Israeli and US flags fly at the Abu Dhabi airport at the arrival of the first-ever commercial flight from Israel to the UAE
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The president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, and Israel's PM-elect Benjamin Netanyahu discussed peace in the region over a phone call on Thursday.

The two leaders discussed options for lasting peace in the region, which has been troubled by sporadic clashes between Israel and Palestine for the longest period of time. Netanyahu recently won the Israeli parliamentary elections and is set to return for another term as prime minister.

Sheikh Mohamed extended his congratulations to Netanyahu on his recent victory in the elections, Emirates News Agency reported. The former also stressed the keenness of the UAE to strengthen cooperation and forge a positive partnership between the two countries.

Netanyahu said in a tweet that the Emirati leader has invited him to visit Dubai sometime in the future.

"I have now spoken with my friend, the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and we have agreed to further promote relations after the historic peace agreement we reached together," the tweet read. You can read it here:

"Sheikh bin Zayed invited me to visit his country so that we can advance our relations together. I thank him for the conversation and the excellent relationship between us!" he added.

Netanyahu secured a majority in the Knesset, which has 120 seats, thus signalling a popular mandate in favour of Israel's far-right bloc.

Despite the general animosity between Israel and Arab countries, the UAE and Israel signed a deal in September 2020 to bring normalcy to their relations. Since then, a lot of bilateral agreements have been inked between the countries in various fields, including banking, investment and tourism.

The agreement, facilitated and brokered by the USA, promised a new era in bilateral relations. The deal, named the Abraham Accord, specifically underlines security ties between Israel and the UAE, and cements mutual strategic cooperation, especially against common regional threats from powers such as Iran, which has been antagonistic to both Israel and a number of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. However, the UAE is yet to consider plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem, but experts haven't ruled it out in the future.