First direct commercial passenger flight from Israel to UAE takes off
A Star of David-adorned El Al plane flew from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi on Monday, the first-ever direct commercial passenger flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates.U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations
between the two nations and solidifies the often-clandestine ties between them that evolved out of shared enmity toward Iran. With the U.S. as matchmaker, Israel and the UAE agreed earlier this month to work toward normalization, which would make the UAE the third Arab nation to have full relations with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan. But unlike those two nations, Israel has never fought a war against the UAE and hopes to have much warmer relations.
The flight to Abu Dhabi carried high-ranking American and Israeli delegations. The U.S. group included President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and Iran envoy Brian Hook. Israel was represented by its national security advisor, Meir Ben-Shabbat, and the directors-general of several ministries, who will meet with their Emirati counterparts.
Meir Ben-Shabbat said that he was excited about the trip and that the aim was to lay the groundwork for cooperation in areas such as tourism, medicine, technology and trade. “This morning the traditional greeting of ‘Go in peace’ takes on a special significance for us,” he said.
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