RAMALLAH, West Bank — On June 9, the United Arab Emirates delivered a medical aid cargo flight to help Palestinians curb the outbreak of COVID-19. The Palestinian Authority (PA), however, rejected the aid, just as it did with a previous aid shipment from the UAE on May 19.

An airplane of the UAE’s Etihad Airways landed at Ben Gurion Airport on June 9 through coordination with Israel, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported, completely sidelining the PA. Although there is no peace agreement between Israel and the UAE, such flights show that their relations have advanced. The Palestinian government refused the delivery, just like it did May 19, because the aid was not coordinated with the PA. 

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh said June 9 that the UAE did not coordinate with his government about any aid that would be carried by an Emirati plane and land at Ben Gurion Airport. He told reporters, “We were not informed of this aid; we heard of it in the media.”

This was the first time that an Emirati plane had publicly landed in Israel without hiding its logo, emblem and UAE flag. The first humanitarian cargo flight that arrived in Israel on May 19 had the Etihad Airways logo and UAE flag whited out from the plane.