‘GREAT PAIN’
Israel renewed a warning for Israelis to avoid any non-essential travel to the UAE, and advised citizens already in the Gulf country to take extra precautions.
On Saturday, an Emirati official had said the foreign ministry was in touch with Kogan’s family and the Moldovan embassy. Emirati authorities had launched a probe.
But Emirati officials have not said anything further about Kogan’s murder.
In a message on X, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement to which Kogan belonged expressed its “great pain” alongside a photo of the rabbi, adding that he had been “murdered by terrorists after being abducted on Thursday”.
The UAE, which is made up of seven emirates, prides itself on being a tolerant and safe country for residents and visitors of all faiths.
The oil-rich Gulf state, whose population is made up mainly of expatriates, opened an interfaith centre last year in Abu Dhabi housing a mosque, a church and a synagogue.
But the war in Gaza triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 has sparked rising anger in the Middle East.
In Jordan, a man was killed on Sunday after opening fire on and wounding three members of the security forces near the Israeli embassy in the capital Amman, state media said, in an incident described by the government spokesman as a “terrorist attack”.
Investigations were underway to uncover the circumstances and motives behind the attack.
