Israel’s President Isaac Herzog attends a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State (not pictured), in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 30, 2023, following the announcement of an extension of the truce between Israel and Hamas just before it was due to expire. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
DUBAI, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday asked United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to use his “political weight” to help free all of the Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Herzog made the request during a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed in Dubai, according to a statement issued by the Israeli president’s media office.
“The President appealed to his friend Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to employ his full political weight to promote and speed up the return home of the hostages,” it said.
Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial and which lacks executive powers, is in the Gulf state to attend the U.N. climate summit, known as COP28, which runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.
It is his first overseas trip since the Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen which Israel has said killed…
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