Second plane from UAE lands in Israel

ABU DHABI: United Arab Airlines (UAE) airlines Etihad Airways sent its second flight to Israel in less than a month carrying medical aid to help Palestinians tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Apart from Jordan and Egypt, Arab countries have no official diplomatic ties with Israel. Many Gulf Arab nations have more publicly warm ties with Israel lately partly over shared rivalry with Iran.

In mid-May, the United Arab Emirates flew its first publicly announced flight to Israel, also an Etihad flight carrying coronavirus aid for the Palestinians. The aircraft on Tuesday carried for the first time the logo of the Arab carrier.

Israel’s foreign affairs ministry confirmed that Tuesday’s flight was the second one to Israel from the UAE. “It is the second direct flight from the UAE and it has medical aid for the Palestinians,” the ministry said, adding that the aid will be given to the UN to distribute.

READ MORE: UAE operates first flight to Israel with COVID-19 aid for Palestinians

Palestinian premier Mohammed Shtayyeh said the Palestinians had not been informed about the flight. “The Emirati plane took us by surprise, we didn’t know about it,” he told foreign journalists at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

He appreciated for the aid but said the delivery should have been coordinated. “When China decides to help us, they coordinate with us, when any country in the world is extending its assistance, they tell us,” he told foreign journalists in Ramallah.

Israel has congratulated the UAE on its bid to launch the first Arab space probe. The latest flight came as Israel prepares to move forward in July with annexing its West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley.

US President Donald Trump announced a peace plan in January allowing such annexations as well as creating a reduced Palestinian state without a capital in east Jerusalem.

The Palestinians rejected the proposals and have submitted a counter-proposal to the quartet mediating the conflict namely the United Nations, USA, Russia and European Union.