El Al airliner flight 971 from Israel to the UAE lands in Abu Dhabi following historic peace deal
For the first time a commercial flight landed in UAE from Israel, marking a major step in normalising relations after the announcement of a peace deal.
El Al airliner made the three-hour trip, carrying a delegation of Israeli and US officials.
The flight was allowed to cross Saudi Arabian airspace, normally blocked to Israeli air traffic.
Flight LY971, the number represents UAE’s international dialling code carried delegates including Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and Israel’s National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat.
Historic flight 971 from Israel to the UAE has just lands in Abu Dhabi following peace deal #Israel #UAE #AbuDhabi #PeaceFlight0971 pic.twitter.com/mNQMt7urk8
— www.THEPIGEONEXPRESS.com (@TPE_connect) August 31, 2020
Mr Kushner led secret talks which resulted in the Israel-UAE agreement.
Speaking to the media after landing in Abu Dhabi, Mr Kushner described the deal between the countries as a “historic breakthrough” and said it was a “tremendous honour” to have joined the flight.
“What happened here was three great leaders came together and they started writing a new script for the Middle East. They said the future doesn’t have to be predetermined by the past,” he said
The joint teams will meet Emirati representatives to develop areas of co-operation between Israel and the UAE. The return flight will be numbered LY972, after Israel’s international dialling code.
UAE had become only the third Arab country in the middle east to recognise Israel since its founding in 1948.
On Saturday the UAE repealed a law boycotting Israel which had been in place since 1972, and earlier this month the two countries opened direct telephone services for the first time.
The agreement to normalise relations – brokered by the US – was made public in a surprise announcement on 13 August.
READ: Israel and the UAE ink deal to establish diplomatic relations