UAE's Etihad first logo-bearing flight to Israel carrying Palestinian aid
The first shipment was refused by the Palestinians as they said it had not been coordinated with them.
By REUTERS, LAHAV HARKOVAn Etihad Airways Airbus A320-200 at the National Airport Minsk, Belarus, April 19, 2018. (photo credit: VASILY FEDOSENKO / REUTERS)
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways operated a rare, second flight to Israel – the first bearing the company’s logo – on Tuesday, carrying medical aid to be delivered to the Palestinians, an airline spokeswoman said.The state-owned carrier made the first known flight to Israel by a United Arab Emirates airline on May 19.It transported supplies to help the Palestinians combat the new coronavirus after the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) coordinated a 16-ton shipment from the UAE.However, the Palestinian Authority refused to receive that shipment because they said it had not been coordinated with them, and the PA had suspended cooperation with Israel.The PA is not expected to agree to receive the new shipment, either.It was not immediately clear what has since happened to the first shipment, with reports saying Israel coordinated for most of the aid to go to Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas. A Palestinian Authority spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.Like the first flight, Tuesday’s flight from Abu Dhabi was a cargo-only with no passengers onboard, the Etihad spokeswoman told Reuters by email.“Etihad Airways continues to operate humanitarian flights providing much needed aid to nations within its network and beyond,” she said.Israel does not have diplomatic relations with UAE or any of the other five Gulf Arab countries, and there are no commercial flights between them.However, shared concerns over Iran’s influence in the region have led to a discrete thaw in ties between Israel and the Arab Gulf in recent years.
Rabbi Marc Schneier, who has extensive ties in the Persian Gulf as president of the interfaith dialogue organization Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, said the flight indicates that “the UAE is sending a clear message that they will not be deterred by the PA’s outburst.“The UAE is sending a bold message, despite the Palestinian rejection of medical supplies that the UAE sent a few weeks ago,” he said.The fact that the flight bears an Etihad logo means “the UAE is no longer keeping this a secret,” he added.Schneier said Gulf States have emphasized health comes before politics, and that combating coronavirus “is the lane… where Gulf States and Israel can be most cooperative, while working towards the well-being of the Palestinians.”
