The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they happen.

Israeli arms manufacturers are showcasing their weapons and other products at a defense fair in the United Arab Emirates, during a fragile ceasefire in a 15-month war between Israel and the terror group Hamas.

An Israeli pavilion stands among industry giants at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defense and Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX), held in the Gulf country’s capital Abu Dhabi until Friday.

“We are very pleased to be here,” says Boaz Levy, the president and CEO of IAI, ranked among the 100 largest arms companies in the world in 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Last year, as civilian casualties mounted in Gaza, the French government banned Israeli companies from setting up stands or exhibiting hardware at the Euronaval defense trade fair. The decision was later thrown out by a Paris court.

According to SIPRI, the three Israeli manufacturers in the ranking, prominently featured at the Abu Dhabi show, recorded a record turnover of $13.6 billion in 2023, driven by Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

But for Levy, this has not stopped them from collaborating with allies in the region.

“Of course, some of our products are there (in Gaza), but we are a company that deals with technology and giving the end user the capabilities… required in the field, and that’s what we are doing on a day-to-day basis,” he says.

The UAE normalized ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States, during the first Donald Trump administration.

Since then, Israeli arm manufacturer EMTAN has attended every defense fair in Abu Dhabi.

“We work a lot with the Abraham” countries, says sales manager Ron Pollak, whose firm makes small arms, rifles, pistols and submachine guns.

“We really, really enjoy the hospitality and the friendship that we encounter here in the UAE.”

A Lebanese security official says Israeli troops have started to pull out from some border villages, as Lebanon’s army moved in, hours before a deadline to implement a Hezbollah-Israel truce.

“Israeli forces are beginning to withdraw from border villages, including Mais al-Jabal and Blida, as the Lebanese army advances,” the official tells AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

While withdrawing from some areas, the IDF says it will remain in five key positions for the foreseeable future.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal says he expects Arab states to put forward a workable alternative to Trump’s Gaza takeover plan.

The prominent lawmaker was among a bipartisan group of US senators who earlier met in Tel Aviv with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Blumenthal says simply that the Trump plan was a “non-starter.”

Trump’s proposal has been widely denounced by Arab officials, while some critics have said it equates to ethnic cleansing. Netanyahu as recently as Monday said that the Palestinians in Gaza should be given the choice to leave.

Blumenthal says Jordan’s King Abdullah convinced him that Arab states would present a plan that covers normalizing ties with Israel, self-determination for the Palestinians, and regional defense arrangements and security for Israel.

“If those components are part of a realistic plan, it could be a game changer for the region,” he says.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed plans for Gaza during a meeting earlier today, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says.

Rubio is visiting the Middle East after President Donald Trump infuriated the Arab world with a proposal for the Palestinian residents of the war-torn strip to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the US to lead reconstruction of the enclave.

“The secretary underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says in a readout of the meeting between Rubio and the crown prince.

The two also reaffirmed their commitment to the ceasefire agreed last month between Israel and Hamas and discussed Syria, Lebanon, and the Red Sea, Bruce said.

Saudi state news........

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