Edited by: Fern Sidman
El Al flight 971 made history on Monday when it became the first Israeli flight to officially land in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), carrying Israeli and US teams who arrived in Abu Dhabi to talk peace and the implementation of the Abraham Accords, according to a report on the Tazpit Press Service.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with flight LY971 captain Tal Becker upon landing in Abu Dhabi and told him he was about “to open the door to a different kind of peace – peace with investments, peace with tourism, peace with very many fruits of peace that will be shared here with our two peoples, and with all the peoples of the region.”
“This is a gigantic and historic blessing. I have worked on it for very many years in the belief that peace for peace would bring about a great turning point here, and that the Arab peoples are capable of accepting the State of Israel as an existing fact and as a major partner,” he added, according to the TPS report.
The delegation was received by United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash in a festive welcoming ceremony at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The head of the Israeli delegation, National Security Advisor and head of the National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat stated in Arabic that the delegation has come “to turn a vision into reality. There is no limit to the cooperation that we will be able to establish between us – in science, in innovation, in health, in aviation, in agriculture, in energy and on many other topics.”
TPS reported that he called on additional countries to “participate with us in the peace process for the peoples of the entire region.”
In Hebrew, he noted that a quarter-century has passed since the last peace agreement was signed between an Arab state and Israel.
“In the many years that have passed hands did not slacken and the yearning for this did not weaken,” he said, as was reported by TPS.
“Israel and the UAE have much in common. Our region is replete with challenges and threats but we have the courage and the ability to meet them. This is thanks to the human spirit that pulses within us, the visionary foresight, the imagination to think big, the ability to innovate, the desire to succeed, the readiness to change and the belief that it is within our power to change reality. We gaze toward a new horizon in the region, a horizon of cooperation between advanced companies, a horizon of technology, of innovation, of prosperity, of growth and of hope,” he declared.
Ben-Shabbat met on Monday evening with his counterpart, UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, US Senior Presidential Advisor Jared Kushner and US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, in the UAE National Security Advisor’s palace in Abu Dhabi.
AP reported that the American delegation included President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
At an airport ceremony in Abu Dhabi, Kushner called the visit a “historic breakthrough” and expressed hope this “will be the first of many” such flights, as was reported by AP.
“There is great urgency between the people of both countries to break down old barriers, to get to know each other, to form new and hopefully very deep friendships,” he said.
“They were very gracious to allow us to fly over their airspace, which they’ve never done before, for an Israeli commercial plane,” Kushner added, according to the AP report.
He said he would be traveling to Saudi Arabia after the visit. Kushner and other officials have said they hope more Arab nations will follow the UAE in establishing ties with Israel, even without a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
TPS reported that earlier in the day, Israeli, Emirati and American representatives met for work sessions on diplomacy, finances, aviation and entry visas, health, culture and tourism, space, science and investments, innovation and trade.
“The goal of the working groups is to create personal and professional links between the professional elements on both sides and to start the work processes,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated, according to the TPS report.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General Alon Ushpiz led the first meeting on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE with teams from the UAE and the US.
The parties discussed the possibility of the mutual opening of embassies and the signing of bilateral agreements aimed at promoting the relationship between the countries, as was reported by TPS.
AP reported that private jets have earlier flown between the two nations as part of covert talks, and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways flew cargo freighters to Israel before to deliver coronavirus aid to the Palestinians. But the high-profile flight Monday looked to place a solid stamp on the surprise Aug. 13 White House announcement of Israel and the UAE establishing ties.
Since then, telephone calls were connected, and the UAE’s ruler issued a decree formally ending the country’s decades-long boycott of Israel. Some Israeli firms have already signed deals with Emirati counterparts, and Monday’s visit was expected to usher in further business cooperation, as was reported by AP.
The UAE has touted the deal as a tool to force Israel into halting its contentious plan to annex parts of the West Bank sought by the Palestinians for their future state. It also may help the Emirates acquire advanced U.S. weapons systems that have been previously unattainable, such as the F-35 fighter jet. Currently, Israel is the only country in the region with the stealth warplanes, according to the AP report.
The Palestinians, however, have fiercely opposed the normalization as peeling away one of their few advantages in moribund peace talks with Israel. Palestinians have held public protests and burned the UAE flag in anger.
TPS reported that on Tuesday, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed the first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the fields of banking and finance, the first outcome of the historic meeting between the two countries in Abu Dhabi.
The MOU was signed by acting director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office Ronen Peretz, and the Governor of the United Arab Emirates Bank, Abdul Hamid Said.
The UAE’s Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the relevant financial regulators in Israel have decided on the establishment of a joint committee to promote cooperation in the field of finance and investment, as was reported by TPS.
The parties discussed promoting cooperation in the field of financial services and lowering financial barriers to investments between the countries as well as promoting joint investments in the capital markets.
The two countries also discussed the promotion of cooperation in banking services and payment regulation.
Of significance, the parties agreed to establish a special working group to create the conditions for joint investment that complies with international standards, including in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, according to the TPS report.
This agreement comes just days after UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed signed an order canceling the law on boycotting products from Israel and economic contacts with Israelis, a phase ahead of the full normalization of ties with Israel.
The order enables the import of Israeli goods and the signing of contracts with Israeli firms and abolishes the 1972 state law that upholds an economic boycott on Israel and the sanctions associated with it, as was reported by TPS.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the first understandings signed in Abu Dhabi saying they will “help us promote mutual investment and extensive cooperation.”
“We will soon announce further agreements in the fields of aviation, tourism, trade and more,” he added.
On Tuesday, Israel National News reported that United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry Policy Planning head Jamal al-Mushrah said in conversation with Israeli reporters that the F35 aircraft deal is still on the table.
“This is a legitimate request from the UAE – and it’s not new. This issue will be reserved for technical talks. The last few days have shown the possible cooperation.”
He added that in talks that took place on the agreement, the Americans promised that in return, moves to apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria would be dropped and will not be promoted again.
INN reported that Al-Mushrah also responded to the harsh words uttered against the Emirates by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The road to peace and prosperity does not go via incitement and hate speech. It is unhelpful for a forward-looking view of peace,” he added.
Also on Tuesday, World Israel News reported that members of the Israeli delegation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined with members of the UAE Jewish community for morning prayers at the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
The group included Meir Ben-Shabbat, Israel’s national security adviser; Ross Kriel, president of the Jewish Council of the Emirates; and Solly Wolf, president of the Dubai Jewish Community.
WIN reported that at the conclusion of the service, Rabbi Levi Duchman of Dubai blew the shofar, a ram’s horn traditionally blown during the Hebrew month of Elul.
Rabbi Duchman also recited a prayer for the welfare of the government and UAE military forces. He presented a copy of the prayer in a special velvet cover to Ben-Shabbat, as was reported by WIN.
Upon landing in Dubai on Monday, Ben-Shabbat said: “On behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I would like to thank U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy Jared Kushner and his team, and my dear colleague, U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, for the vision, the understanding, and the efforts that they invested so that we might reach this moment,” he said, as was reported by WIN.
“I would like to express to my hosts and especially to his Highness UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed our appreciation for his brave step,” he said.
“Not in vain do we call this agreement, and those that will come in its wake, the ‘Abraham accords’. Abraham, our first patriarch, had an innovative vision. He came out against the beliefs that were current in, and before, his time,” said Ben-Shabbat.
“He founded the faith in one God – the God who promised that he would be a source of blessing for us all: ‘and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’”
“By coming to establish relations between Israel and the UAE, we draw inspiration from our common patriarch and forge a new path: A brave path, of hope, partnership, brotherhood, prosperity, and peace,” he said, according to the WIN report.
In related developments, TPS reported that the historic flight is receiving a lot of attention in the Arab world and is provoking many reactions on social media.
The reactions reveal, as expected, large differences between the sympathetic attitude and welcoming in the Gulf and the Emirates, as opposed to the sharp reactions from opponents of the agreement including the Palestinians, supporters of Islamic organizations and the like, as was reported by TPS.
Al Jazeera is covering the historic event in a matter-of-fact manner, emphasizing the word “peace” written in the three languages aboard the 971 El Al flight. Al-Jazeera also noted that the flight flew over the skies of Saudi Arabia and the headline read “Normal flight from Israel to the Emirates”, without mentioning the word “peace agreement.”
TPS also reported that Al-Arabiya wrote in the headline that “Israel hopes for a better future following relations with the Emirates” while Sky news in Arabic wrote “Western commentator’s assessment: The peace agreement between the Emirates and Israel is a strategic victory.”
On the other hand, the Arabi 21 website, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, wrote in the headline: “This is what was written on the first Israeli plane that flew Israelis to the Emirates.”
The site was referring to the plane’s name, Kiryat Gat, and claimed that it was built on the ruins of the Palestinian town of Fallujah, whose residents were allegedly deported during the 1948 War of Independence, as was reported by TPS.
Another headline on the Arabi 21 website stated that “the agreement with the Emirates will now allow Jews to pray in mosques in Jerusalem.”
Arab media positively emphasized Saudi Arabia’s position that it will not sign a peace agreement with Israel before resolving the Palestinian problem, and other sources pointed to the assessment that Sudan is the next country to sign a peace agreement with Israel, according to the TPS report.
TPS reported that on social media, the EL AL flight has garnered a great deal of attention, and there is an apparent gap between the hashtag “Normalization_Traitor”, which is being echoed by Palestinians, supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah, compared to the hashtag “Emirates – the country of Peace ” echoed by supporters of the agreement.
The media and residents of the Emirates and the Gulf, in general, are going out of their way to greet Israel. (TPS, AP, WIN & INN)
