Israeli Commercial Airline Lands First in the United Arab Emirates

Israel's commercial airline, El Al, today landed for the first time in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates after flying from Tel Aviv, Israel.

_{Israeli Airline flights to uae. © Christopher Pike / Reuters}

This flight signifies the opening of diplomatic relations between the two countries which have drawn criticism from various countries in the Middle East.

Reporting from the Aljazeera website, Monday (31/8), the plane with flight number LY 971 was carrying an Israeli delegation, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and envoys of United States President Donald Trump, including Trump's senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

The arrival of the delegation was intended to hold talks regarding the final settlement of the official relations pact between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. The two countries agreed to normalize relations by establishing diplomatic relations on August 13.

This agreement is the first time this has happened in the last 25 years. The UAE is the third Arab country to open full diplomatic relations with Israel.

The plane carrying the Israeli and US delegations reads "peace" in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

Kushner voiced hopes for a more peaceful era in the Middle East.

"Although this is a historic flight, we hope it will start a more historic journey in the Middle East and beyond," said Kushner before boarding the El Al flight.

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_{SOURCE: MERDEKA}

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