A court in Abu Dhabi has sentenced to death an Arab woman who holds the Israeli Occupation citizenship for cocaine possession, in a decision that represents "a major test for the new relations between the two countries," according to the Associated Press (AP).

Israeli Occupation's Foreign Ministry said it "is aware of the incident and is taking care of it."

The Hebrew newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported that the lawyer of the accused woman, Fida Kiwan, 43, will appeal the decision.

Kiwan is from Haifa and owns a photography studio. She had traveled to the Emirates to work after an invitation from one of her Palestinian acquaintances, and upon her arrival in Dubai, she settled in an apartment that had been prepared for her in advance.

She was arrested on March 21, 2021, with half a kilogram of cocaine. She claimed it did not belong to her.

Sources close to the case told a Hebrew online newspaper that they expect the sentence to be reduced to a long-term imprisonment after an appeal.

Her family confirmed that she was not involved in the case and was not aware of the presence of drugs in the apartment.

"The appeal can be done within 30 days, so we are planning for that," her lawyer, Tammy Ullman, told AFP. 

Kiwan's friend, who asked not to be named, confirmed to AFP that her friend had been living in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank before she moved to Dubai.

She added that Kiwan "was a bit lost, but she is a good person and does not deserve what happened."

She expressed her hope that the Israeli Occupation government and people would intensify their efforts to help her, which is what happened with an American-Israeli Occupation woman who was also convicted of drug possession in 2019 in Russia.

The Russian authorities had released Naama Issachar after former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intervened in the case.

"When the Israeli woman, Naama Issachar, was imprisoned in Russia, the government and people of Israel did everything they could until she was finally released," Kiwan's brother said.

He added, "Let's see what they will do for Fida and what the Arab members of the Knesset (parliament) can do."

Drug smuggling laws in the UAE are strict, and the penalties could reach death penalties, but they are not implemented in many cases and are replaced by long-term imprisonment.

Notably, in 2020, the United Arab Emirates and the Israeli Occupation signed an agreement to normalize relations between both countries under the 'Abraham Accords.'