A general view of the Business Bay area, after a curfew was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 28, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Satish Kumar / File.

i24 News – The United Arab Emirates sentenced an Israeli citizen to death for possession of half a kilogram of cocaine in the Gulf state.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which said it was aware of the case, declined to identify the citizen who was reportedly sentenced by an Abu Dhabi court after being arrested on March 17 of last year.

According to Ynetnews, the woman is Fida Kiwan, a 43-year-old resident of the northern Israeli city Haifa.

She reportedly went to Dubai for work at the invitation of a Palestinian acquaintance last year, and a search of her apartment shortly after turned up drugs.

“The incident is known and being dealt with through diplomatic channels in the United Arab Emirates,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

A ministry spokesman told Haaretz: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and is handling it through the Department of Israelis Abroad in the Consular Division and Israeli representatives in the United Arab Emirates.”

Kiwan unsuccessfully argued that the drugs were not hers upon being arrested, and her local attorney is expected to appeal the verdict, Ynetnews reported.

The UAE is governed by strict Shariah law — a body of religious law that forms part of the Islamic tradition.

Hence, the Gulf state has an absolute zero-tolerance policy against drugs.