Today on 31st August, the first commercial flight took off from Israel to UAE; marking a huge step in the normalizing relations between both nations. Israeli carrier, El Al went on a three-hour trip across Saudi Arabian airspace which is usually blocked for Israeli air traffic. It landed in UAE around 2:40 PM (Israel Daylight Time, GMT +3) as the time stamp on the tweet suggests
First Flight from Israel to UAE
Flight number LY971 represents the international dialing codes of UAE. Delegation on board included Israel’s National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and US President’s senior advisor/son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The return flight number will be reportedly LY972 which represents the international dialing codes of Israel. The words “peace” were painted on the plane in three languages; Arabic, English, and Hebrew.
A Successful Stage In The Newly Established Relationship
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement (in Hebrew) opined that this flight would be a peace gesture which he believed would go both ways. He referred to his long-standing doubt that only trading the occupied Palestinian land will not bring peace between Arab countries and Israel.
Before initiating the first flight from Israel to UAE, both countries reportedly started telephone connection for the first time. UAE has also cancelled a boycott Israel law which was in place for 48 years.
Reportedly it was USA’s Jared Kushner who secretly brokered this historic deal between UAE and Israel. Many locals found him worshipping on the controversial wall of Jerusalem. There has been a long historic conflict between Arabs and Jews over this wall. Arabs consider it a “Wailing Wall” belonging to Masjid Al-Aqsa’s structure on Temple Mount and it is a place of weeping. Jews on the other hand consider it a “Western Wall”, of their 70 CE temple, a place of worship which was destroyed by the Romans.
An Emirati businessman looks forward to the various political opportunities with their new ally. The delegation on flight LY971 will reportedly meet some Emirati representatives in hopes of cooperative development.
The Plight Remains Hidden Under The Celebration Of Achieving Historic Milestone
The peace deal was welcomed by the majority of the international community except some of those who stood in solidarity with the Palestinians. One media producer shared her sad story about the name of an ethnically cleansed village written just below the so-called “peace”.
Palestinians greatly denounced the UAE’s recognition of Israel as an act of betrayal. Since there was no precondition that Israel would let Palestinians create their own state. Ever since the peace deal, the Palestinians have been suffering in the Gaza region.
It was reported that Israel has suspended the controversial annexation plans to occupy more lands claimed by Palestinians so they cannot register a state. However, some freedom fighting movements in Palestine did not find truth in Israelite statements and still worry for the future of their desire state of Palestine.
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