First commercial flight from Israel to UAE follows historic deal
The flight is a first step in a normalization process between the countries as an official signing of the agreement is expected next month.
In the wake of a historic Israeli-UAE deal to normalize relations, the first commercial flight from Israel to Emirates is scheduled to depart Monday, according to an Israel Airports Authority flight timetable. The direct flight will take off from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and arrive in the UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi.
The flight follows a US-brokered deal between Israel and the UAE earlier this month.
“This is exactly what peace for peace looks like,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted today.
Currently scheduled to depart at 10 a.m., the plane is to carry an Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat. It will also host top US aides who helped broker this month’s agreement, including White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, national security adviser Robert O’Brien and US Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz.
