The first commercial flight from Israel to the UAE has landed.
An El Al flight carrying high-ranking American and Israeli delegation landed for the first time ever in the UAE, marking a major step in normalising relations.
The three-hour flight, which was allowed to cross Saudi Arabian airspace, departed Tel Aviv at 11:21 and arrived in Abu Dhabi at 15:38.
The word “peace” was printed in Arabic, English and Hebrew above the cockpit window of the Boeing 737.
“That’s what peace for peace looks like,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted.
Earlier in the month, Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories.
US President Donald Trump said more Arab nations are expected to follow suit.
Experts have pointed out that it’s the shared enmity toward Iran that has brought Israel and its Arab neighbours together.
Palestinians are dismayed by the UAE’s move, worried that it would weaken its calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of a Palestinian statehood.
The historic flight was numbered LY971 to represent the UAE’s international dialling code.
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