Israeli media reported that Kiwan, who owns a photo studio in Haifa in northern Israel, came to Dubai for work about a year ago. He was arrested a week later after police found cocaine in his apartment. Kiwan allegedly claimed that the drugs were not its own. CNN contacted the UAE State Department for comment. Death sentences are rarely carried out in the UAE. Ziv Agmon, an Israeli lawyer specializing in Emirati law who is not involved in the case, told CNN he was waiting for UAE courts to commute the sentence. He added that there is no formal repatriation agreement between the UAE and Israel. The establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, as part of the Abraham Accords signed in 2020, has led to an increase in Israeli visitors to the UAE. They were not all tourists and businessmen. “Our office in Dubai has seen an increase in criminal cases involving Israeli citizens,” Agmon said. “Israelis need to understand that the legal authorities in Dubai are taking drug cases seriously.”
