The UAE authorities sentenced an Israeli woman to death for cocaine possession, which was a serious test for relations between the countries of the Middle East, AP reported.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has confirmed that it is working on the Fida Kiwan case.

Israeli news site Ynet reported that Kiwan was arrested on March 21, 2021 with a pound of cocaine that she said did not belong to her. Kiwan's lawyer is appealing the verdict, which could be commuted to jail time.

The UAE's tough drug laws could test the evolving relationship between Israel and the UAE under the Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump administration in 2020.

Israeli media reported that Kiwan came to Dubai for work at the invitation of a Palestinian acquaintance just over a year ago. Some time later, she was arrested after drugs were found during a search of her apartment.

In the UAE, drug dealing usually carries a life sentence, while possession carries a shorter prison sentence. While UAE law allows for the death penalty in certain cases, the latter is rarely applied. The last known executions were in 2011 and 2014 against two men convicted of murder.