‘Another Step Toward Regional Peace’

Stand for Israel | August 31, 2020

UAE-ISRAEL-US-DIPLOMACY — A picture taken on August 31, 2020, shows an Emirati official preparing to open the door of the El Al's airliner, which is carrying a US-Israeli delegation to the UAE following a normalisation accord, upon it's arrival at the Abu Dhabi airport in the first-ever commercial flight from Israel to the UAE. - A US-Israeli delegation including White House advisor Jared Kushner took off on a historic first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi to mark the normalisation of ties between the Jewish state and the UAE. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

The quest for peace in the Middle East continued on Monday with a historic flight from Israel. The Times of Israel’s Raphael Ahren reports that not only did the El Al flight land in the UAE, but also became the first Israeli plane to cross Saudi Arabia:

In a historic milestone, an Israeli passenger plane flew through Saudi Arabian airspace Monday on the first direct non-cargo flight between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
El Al Flight 971, carrying high-level Israeli and US delegations, flew southeast down almost the entire length of Saudi Arabia to reach its destination in Abu Dhabi. It was the first time an Israeli plane was given permission by the kingdom to use its airspace…
By crossing Saudi airspace, the Boeing 737-900 jet, from Israel’s national carrier fleet, was able to shave nearly four hours off the flight time. About 1.5 hours after takeoff from Tel Aviv, the plane buzzed over Riyadh.
From Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to members of his staff on board the flight as it hovered above Riyadh.
In a video message shared to his social media accounts, the prime minister was seen on the phone with members of the Israeli delegation, cheering the “historic day” as he traced his finger over a map of Saudi Arabia and outlined the flight route…