Israeli and US officials arrive in UAE to cement normalisation deal

Published August 31, 2020
Senior US Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner and US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien pose with members of the Israeli-American delegation in front of the El Al's flight LY971, which will carry the delegation from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on August 31, 2020. — Reuters
Senior US Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner and US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien pose with members of the Israeli-American delegation in front of the El Al's flight LY971, which will carry the delegation from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on August 31, 2020. — Reuters

Top aides to United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to put the final touches on a pact establishing open relations between the Gulf power and Israel.

Even before discussions start in Abu Dhabi, the delegates made aviation history by taking an Israeli commercial airliner directly from Tel Aviv to the UAE capital over Saudi territory.

“That’s what peace for peace looks like,” Netanyahu tweeted, describing a deal for formal ties with an Arab state that does not entail handover of land that Israel captured in a 1967 war.

Announced on August 13, the normalisation deal is the first such accommodation between an Arab country and Israel in more than 20 years and was catalysed largely by shared fears of Iran.

Palestinians were dismayed by the UAE’s move, worried that it would weaken a long-standing pan-Arab position that called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory - and acceptance of Palestinian statehood - in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

With the word “peace” printed in Arabic, English and Hebrew above a cockpit window, the El Al Boeing 737 took off for Abu Dhabi from Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion international airport, a flight of about three hours and 20 minutes, the pilot announced to passengers.

Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and national security adviser Robert O’Brien head the US delegation. The Israeli team is led by O’Brien’s counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat. Officials will explore bilateral cooperation in areas such as commerce and tourism, and Israeli defence envoys are due to visit the UAE separately.

“I prayed yesterday at the (Western) Wall that Muslims and Arabs throughout the world will be watching this flight, recognising that we are all children of God, and that the future does not have to be pre-determined by the past,” Kushner told reporters on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion airport.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.