Updated: August 31, 2020 9:58:21 pm
The Israeli-flagged airline El Al plane, carrying Israeli and US delegations to Abu Dhabi for talks aimed at putting the final touches on the standardization agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, takes off at Ben Gurion Airport, nearby from Tel Aviv, Israel on Monday, August 31, 2020 (AP Photo / Ariel Schalit)
Weeks after The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel signed a historic peace agreement mediated by the United States, a delegation of high-level officials took off from Tel Aviv on Monday, aboard the first commercial flight between the two Middle Eastern countries.
El Al flight LY971, named after the United Arab Emirates’ international dialing code, departed for Abu Dhabi this morning, carrying key aides to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and Israel’s national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat lead the delegation, the BBC reported.
Delegates will meet their Emirati counterparts once they land in Abu Dhabi on Monday night. During the overnight visit, they will discuss how to develop various areas of cooperation between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. On Tuesday, delegates will return to Israel aboard flight LY972, which is numbered to represent Israel’s international dialing code.
Read | UAE formally ends boycott of Israel amid US-brokered deal
In a significant diplomatic development, the flight will pass over Saudi Arabian airspace, which is otherwise blocked from Israeli jets, Reuters reported. This, in a way, indicates Saudi Arabia’s acceptance of the controversial peace agreement.
By signing the peace agreement on August 13, the UAE became the third Arab nation after Egypt (in 1979) and Jordan (in 1994) to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Israel. In return, President Netanyahu promised to stall his plans to annex the highly contested territory of the West Bank.
An Israeli delegation led by National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat, and US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien leading right, and US President Trump’s Senior Advisor Jared Kushner , front in the center, are on their way to board the Israeli-flagged carrier El Al passenger jet as they fly to Abu Dhabi for talks aimed at putting the final touches on the normalization agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, at Ben-Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, August 31, 2020 (Nir Elias / Pool). Photo via AP)
Soon after, delegations from both countries began working to forge bilateral ties through various avenues, including investment, telecommunications, tourism, and direct flights. Earlier this month, the first direct telephone service between the two countries was opened, the BBC reported.
These are the main developments on the peace agreement between Israel and the UAE
‘This is peace for peace’s sake,’ says Netanyahu
In a recent tweet, shared before the historic flight between the two Middle Eastern countries, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the trip was an example of “peace for peace,” the BBC reported.
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“This is peace for peace,” read his tweet, originally written in Hebrew. The plane itself had the word “peace” printed in Arabic, English and Hebrew just above the cockpit window.
Meanwhile, Israel’s national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat said he was excited about the trip, adding that the goal was to work towards cooperation in areas such as tourism, medicine, technology and trade, AP reported. .
“This morning, the traditional greeting of ‘go in peace’ takes on a special meaning for us,” Ben-Shabbat told reporters, before boarding the flight.
‘This is a historic flight,’ says Jared Kushner
Addressing the media before boarding the flight, White House adviser Jared Kushner said he hoped the three-hour trip to Abu Dhabi would mark the beginning of a historic trip through the Middle East, The Guardian reported.
This is a historic flight. We hope this starts an even more historic journey to the Middle East and beyond, ”he said.
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Kushner played a central role in brokering the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Speaking in Jerusalem on Sunday, Kushner called the deal a “big step forward.” “Having played a role in its creation, and I say this as the grandson of two Holocaust survivors, means more to me and my family than I can express,” he added.
First historical, the pilot confirms that the flight will cross Saudi Arabia
The plane’s captain, Tan Becker, 45, announced that the flight would pass over Saudi Arabia shortly after takeoff. This was the first time that an Israeli plane entered Saudi airspace, AP reported.
Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf countries had previously imposed a series of restrictions on Israel, due to their support for Palestinians seeking an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and areas of the Gaza Strip captured by Israel.
Had Saudi Arabia not allowed the flight to enter, the three-hour, 20-minute flight would have taken more than seven hours, according to an AP report.
EL AL captain speaks before departure from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi pic.twitter.com/RrBX7B2pTV
– Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) August 31, 2020
UAE Cancels Boycott of Israel, Paving Way for Flights and Business
United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday canceled an old law boycotting Israel, which ultimately allowed trade and financial deals between the two countries, Reuters reported.
The decree was aimed at “supporting bilateral cooperation to arrive at (the establishment) of bilateral relations,” according to a report by the official UAE news agency WAM.
According to Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, with his recent decree, the country had taken “an important step towards peace, which will produce important economic and commercial achievements for both people while strengthening stability in the region.”
The lifting of the boycott paved the way for the historic flight between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi that took place today, and also business between the two countries in the future.
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