Israel says a rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been murdered, and have vowed to track down his killers.

“The murder of Zvi Kogan is a criminal antisemitic terrorist incident," PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

Rabbi Kogan, an envoy of the orthodox Jewish organisation Chabad, had been missing in Dubai since Thursday.

His body was recovered after his abandoned car was found an hour's drive away from his home.