An Israeli-American delegation, led by Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, flew on Monday, August 31, from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi on the wings of the "first direct commercial flight" between the Hebrew state and the United Arab Emirates, new partners in the Middle East.

"This is a historic flight and we hope it is also the start of an even more historic journey to the Middle East and beyond," said Jared Kushner on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport, decorated with American and Israeli flags and punctuated by oriental music.

The Boeing 737 left Israeli soil around 11:22 a.m. (8:22 a.m. GMT), an AFP team found, and is due to arrive in Abu Dhabi in the afternoon.

>> To read: The Israel-Emirates agreement, a sign of a "new state of mind" in the Middle East

The United Arab Emirates and Israel announced on August 13 an agreement to normalize their relations, unofficial for years, the UAE becoming the first Gulf country to change the status of its relationship with Israel, and the third in the Arab world, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

Unlike those two countries, the Emirates have never waged a war against Israel. And unlike these two countries, Israeli analysts like to evoke "hot" relations with, at the end of the day, trade, and not just a "cold" peace woven from security coordination without major investments.

Important delegation on board

Since the announcement of the agreement, sponsored by the United States, Israel and the Emirates have increased telephone exchanges between ministers and Abu Dhabi this weekend repealed a 48-year-old law on the boycott of Israel.

In the spring, an official cargo flight from the Emirati carrier Etihad landed at Ben-Gurion Airport with equipment to help Palestinians deal with the pandemic. The Palestinian leadership, which today castigates the Israel / Emirates engagement, had also refused this aid, claiming that it had been coordinated with the Hebrew state and not with them.

>> To read: Israel-Emirates agreement: a "new era" that divides on the international scene

Besides Jared Kushner, national security adviser Robert O'Brien and Iranian case manager Brian Hook are traveling on flight LY971 - number of the international telephone code of the Emirates - of the company EL AL, in the cockpit decorated with the words "peace, salam and shalom ".

On the Israeli side, around 20 senior officials and close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got their tickets to the Gulf, including Meir Ben-Shabbat, head of the National Security Council.

Foreign tourists banned from entering Israel

Israel and the Emirates are separated by Saudi Arabia, a key ally of the United States and the Emirates as well, and the question Monday morning was whether Riyadh would indeed allow this EL AL flight to pass through its airspace as the 'Israeli media claim.

Upon arrival, the US and Israeli delegations will meet with Emirati officials for two days of discussions on security, trade, scientific cooperation, tourism and visa procedures for future travelers between the two new partners looking elsewhere. to expand their family.

History does not yet say when the next commercial flights between Israel and the Emirates will take place, especially as anti-coronavirus measures currently prohibit foreign tourists from entering Israel, nor what will be the next destination added to the schedules. by EL AL.

Authorities announced early on Monday that the Emirates had been added to the list of "green" countries regarding the coronavirus. In short: passengers returning to Israel on flight 972 from Abu Dhabi will not have to go into quarantine.

With AFP

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