Israeli ‘peace’ jet makes historic flight to UAE over Saudi Arabia
David G Rose
AN ISRAELI airliner made a historic first flight from Tel Aviv to the United Arab Emirates yesterday in order to emphasise the new diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The El Al Boeing 737 – with the word “peace” printed in Arabic, English and Hebrew above the cockpit – flew from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, with a joint delegation of American and Israeli diplomats aboard, including Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and senior adviser to Donald Trump, the US president.
The Israeli passenger jet made history by flying over Saudi Arabia, one of many countries that continues a historic boycott of Israel that followed the 1967 Arab-israeli war. “This is the first time this has ever happened,” Mr Kushner
said, shortly after landing in Abu Dhabi yesterday afternoon. “I would like to thank the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for making that possible.
“While this is a historic flight, we hope that it will start an even more historic journey in the Middle East and beyond,” he added. “This is a very hopeful time.”
Last month the UAE said it would become only the third Middle Eastern hostility to Iran. The move has been condemned as a “betrayal” by the Palestinian leadership, however.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, hailed the flight as “peace for peace” and sent a message to the plane while it was flying through Saudi airspace. Meir Ben-shabbat, Israel’s national security adviser, was also on the flight with Robert O’brien, his American counterpart. Mr Kushner said that this week’s visit could bring “previously unthinkable” economic, security ties and tourism in the region and claimed that “the stage is set” for other Arab countries to follow suit.
A separate Israeli delegation is expected to travel next month to the UAE to discuss defence issues, although the prospect of Washington selling F-35 fighter jets and other weapons to the UAE has stoked concerns in Jerusalem.