FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, file photo, an official stands at the door of an Israeli El Al airliner after it landed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The first commercial passenger flight to Israel by a carrier from the United Arab Emirates landed near Tel Aviv on Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, further cementing a normalization deal between the two countries. (Nir Elias/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Israel Emirates
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The first commercial passenger flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel has landed in Tel Aviv, further cementing a normalization deal between the two countries.
Etihad Airways Flight No. 9607 landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion international airport two minutes after 7:00 a.m.
Peace Is A Wonderful Thing!
First Emirati commercial flight Etihad flight EY9607 lands in Israel.pic.twitter.com/czwPNjPLkd#Israel #UAE #Bahrain #Jewish #Arabs #Muslims #Peace @LiorHaiat @IsraeliPM @Daroff @URJPresident @Chabad @jfederations @ADL @AdamMilstein @BoardofDeputies
— Jewish News Agency (™) (@JewishNewsUSA) October 19, 2020
The plane departed for Abu Dhabi later Monday with an Israeli travel and tourism delegation, according to an Etihad statement. Etihad said it would eventually begin regular passenger flights between the countries.
Israel and the UAE announced in August they had agreed to normalize ties, setting off a flurry of business, banking and intergovernmental agreements, along with an end to a longstanding boycott by the UAE against Israel.
