Israel launches direct flights to UAE: Trump's son-in-law arrives on first flight

On August 31, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner arrived in Dubai as part of a joint US-Israeli delegation. He said Palestinians should not be “stuck in the past.” Writes about this with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

“The governments of the countries sat down at the negotiating table. The world is ready for this step,” Kushner said.

He also reaffirmed that American support for Israel's military might would not hinder the development of its relations with the United Arab Emirates, the second largest economy in the Arab world.

Terrorist group Hamas said the flight was a "stab in the back of the Palestinian people." The Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip has condemned the establishment of relations between Israel and the UAE from the very beginning.

First direct flight

It was the first direct flight from Tel Aviv to Dubai, another step towards normalizing relations after Israel and the United Arab Emirates, mediated by the United States, announced a peace treaty on August 13.

The liner received permission to cross the airspace of Saudi Arabia, despite the fact that this section is usually closed to Israeli aviation.

The UAE is the third Arab state after Egypt and Jordan to recognize Israel since its creation in 1948.

Triple benefit

A peace agreement between Israel and the UAE will benefit three parties at once. First, Israel, since now three Arab countries recognize its right to exist.

On the subject: 'Big step': US-brokered Israel and UAE reach historic agreement

Secondly, the Emirates, which have long positioned themselves as the financial center of the Middle East. They will play into the hands of ties with a regional power in terms of computer technology and security issues.

And also the President of the United States, who can use this situation to his advantage during a difficult election campaign, and present himself as a peacemaker.

This greatly changes the geopolitical situation in the region, but at the same time leaves the Palestinians on the sidelines. The Palestinians believe that such agreements ignore their interests and prevent them from establishing their own state in the occupied territories, as Israeli settlements continue to grow there.

The chances of creating a separate Palestinian state, in their opinion, are getting smaller. Although it should be recalled that under this agreement, Israel promises the UAE not to annex part of the occupied territory in the West Bank.

Palestinians are closely following developments

The Palestinian leadership said that it was very surprised by the UAE's decision to recognize Israel and establish diplomatic relations with it, as this runs counter to the already long-standing position of most Arab countries, according to which Israel must leave the occupied territories to normalize relations.

At the same time, it is not specified what is meant by the term “occupied territories.”

On Saturday, August 29, the UAE abolished the law on boycotting Israel that had been in force since 1972. Earlier in August, a direct telephone connection was established between the countries.

How did the flight go

On board a flight between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, the pilot greeted passengers in three languages ​​- Arabic, English and Hebrew.

Like all El Al flights, the plane was equipped with a missile defense system, and there were Israeli and American security officials on board.

The news that an agreement was reached on the full normalization of relations between Israel and the Emirates came as a surprise to many.

The visit of the American delegation to Dubai will last two days. Israel hopes that as a result of the negotiations, both sides will sign a formal peace agreement. The signing should take place in Washington, maybe even in September.

The agreement will have to be signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

On the subject: Birthday present: Israel approved the construction plan for the Trump settlement in the Golan

Trump's son-in-law himself led secret negotiations that led to the normalization of relations between the two countries.

The US-Israel team will negotiate with Emirates to identify specific areas of cooperation.

Two explosions

Hours before an Israeli plane landed in Abu Dhabi, two bombs exploded in the emirate, killing three people and injuring many.

In a tweet, Netanyahu called the flight a success of "peace for peace" diplomacy - a reference to the long-condemned "peace for territory" principle, which holds that only Israeli territorial concessions can lead to peace with Arab countries.

In exchange for establishing diplomatic relations with the UAE, the Israeli authorities agreed to postpone their plan for the partial annexation of the West Bank, where, according to the Palestinians, their future state should be located.

Egypt and Jordan officially recognized Israel in 1978 and 1994, respectively.

Mauritania, a Arab League country in northwest Africa, established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1999, but severed them again in 2010.

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