An unmarked Etihad Airways cargo plane flew aid to help the Palestinians fight the coronavirus pandemic from the capital of the United Arab Emirates into Israel this week, marking the first known direct commercial flight between the two nations.
The UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the Arabian Peninsula, has no diplomatic ties to Israel over its occupation of land wanted by the Palestinians for a future state, like all Arab nations except Egypt and Jordan.
Yet the flight marked a moment of cooperation between Israel and the UAE after years of rumoured back-channel discussions between them over the mutual enmity of Iran and other issues.
Etihad, the state-owned, long-haul carrier based in Abu Dhabi, confirmed it sent a flight Tuesday (Wednesday NZ time) to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
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