Senior diplomat from the UAE to "Israel Today": "These are historic days full of pride"

• Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas // Photo: AFP

On the wings of history: Towards the departure of the Israeli delegation today to the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, for discussions on the implementation of the peace agreement between the oil principalities and Israel, a senior Foreign Ministry official in Abu Dhabi confirmed to Israel Today that the Saudi authorities responded to El Al's request And approved the Israeli airline's request to allow the delegation to fly in the country's skies.

Beyond the historical and political significance of the fact that the Saudis first approved an Israeli airline to pass through the kingdom's airspace, this is a move that will significantly shorten the flight time from seven to eight hours to only three hours of a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi.

The senior emirate diplomat told Israel Today that the entire United Arab Emirates is excited and looking forward to the arrival of the Israeli delegation. They guarantee a warm and unforgettable welcome. "These are historic days, and we are all very proud of each and every one of us's part in the peace agreement between us and Israel," said the senior official. "We look forward to the arrival of the Israeli delegation, and we are very excited to visit Jerusalem and Israel."

He added that "we are very saddened by the Palestinian response to the historic agreement with Israel. The Palestinians must face the fact that the political and geopolitical reality in the Middle East has changed in recent decades, especially after the Arab Spring." . 

In his remarks regarding the Palestinians, the senior emirate diplomat expresses what has been said in Abu Dhabi in a wavy bristle since the announcement of the agreement with Israel. And yet, senior Ramallahs are on their own. The Central Committee of the Fatah movement convened yesterday and noted the importance of unity in the face of the upcoming challenges they face.

Fatah: "We will continue to resist"

During this meeting, Fatah officials reiterated their previous messages. "We reject all plans aimed at eliminating the Palestinian issue, including the Century Plan," it said at the end of the meeting. "We salute the steadfastness of our prisoners in Israeli prisons and emphasize that their struggle was not In vain. We will continue to fight for their release. "The next meeting of the Fatah Central Committee is expected to take place on Thursday, and the main issue to be discussed is, of course, the historic visit of senior Israeli officials to Abu Dhabi.

At the same time, another UAE official told Israel Today that in Abu Dhabi, which serves as the ruling capital of the Federation of Principalities (Dubai is the economic capital), final preparations are being made for the arrival of Israeli and American delegations.

We are also preparing for the arrival of additional delegations of diplomats, senior officials and businessmen from other Arab countries, who have official diplomatic relations with Israel. However, the growing assessment is that in the coming weeks, some of them will sign peace agreements and normalization with Israel.

The delegations will hold formal discussions with UAE staff on extensive and diverse cooperation agreements between the countries in the fields of security and intelligence, aviation and tourism, technology, health, and trade and commerce, culture and leisure.

"Waiting for more countries"

"We have received inquiries from many sources in Arab countries and around the world who have sought to take part in the historic process and reach Abu Dhabi," the emirate official said. "We hope that the agreement between us and Israel will boost other countries interested in participating in the process, not only peace, security and stability." Economic, technological and medical for the benefit of the peoples of the region. " 

On the eve of the departure of the Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi, the President of the United Arab Emirates Khalifa bin Zayd (brother of the regent and de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi, Muhammad bin Zayed) issued an official presidential decree canceling the economic boycott of Israel and signing trade and economic agreements. With Israeli personalities and bodies. According to the order, it is possible to officially allow trade and commerce between the countries and the entry of Israeli goods into the Emirates. 

The announcement of the lifting of the economic boycott of Israel was published in all the official media of the Federation of Principalities, which imposed the economic boycott on Israel 48 years ago, with the establishment of the United Arab Emirates and in accordance with pan-Arab policy, which denied any recognition or normalization with the State of Israel.