Flight ELY971, which flew over Saudi Arabia, landed in the UAE • Among the delegation members: The head of the National Security Council and President Trump's adviser and son-in-law • Secretary of State Braverman told Israel Today this morning: "Establishing embassies in Israel and Abu Dhabi

Israeli and American officials on UAE soil: After about three hours, an El Al flight departing from Ben Gurion Airport this morning (Monday) landed in Abu Dhabi ahead of a summit to be held there in the next day. The flight also passed over Saudi Arabia. 

Secretary of State Braverman: "Establishing embassies in Israel and in Abu Dhabi - faster than you think" // Photo: Ariel Kahana

During the flight a special atmosphere was felt. Masks with the symbols of the three countries were distributed to the members of the delegations and they received special boarding passes. 

In a briefing on the plane to journalists accompanying the joint trip of the Israeli and US delegations to the United Arab Emirates, President Trump's son-in-law and special adviser Jared Kushner addressed the issue of sovereignty.

He said that "sovereignty has been suspended so that we can focus on an agreement with the Emirates". "President Trump likes to leave all options open. Right now there is a focus on one thing but that could change. At the moment we are taking full enthusiasm with the United Arab Emirates. Businessmen from Israel and the Emirates and tourists who want to come so there is a huge opportunity. Right now we want to stay. "But President Trump likes to leave as much flexibility as possible so there is no reason to give it up."

Shortly before takeoff, Prime Minister Tzachi Braverman told Israel Today that "the establishment of embassies in Israel and in Abu Dhabi will happen sooner than expected."

This morning, Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bnei Gantz described the flight as "a historic moment of real hope for peace." To the delegation, Gantz said: "You are given the historic privilege to take part in this event and represent the people of Israel. Our eyes are on you in the hope of real news. We have much to share with the United Arab Emirates - in diplomatic space, agriculture, science, medicine, culture and transportation." 

At the capital Abu Dhabi airport, the first public meeting between representatives of Israel and the United Arab Emirates will begin today. The Israeli and US delegations are expected to be received at an official ceremony by representatives of the kingdom. The US mission, consisting of about 15 people, is headed by US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and Special Adviser to the President Jared Kushner. At the top of the Israeli delegation, about 50 people in total, will be the head of the National Security Council, Meir Ben Shabbat, and with him senior officials, including the director general of the Foreign Ministry, Alon Ushpiz.

From the airport, the members of the three delegations will move to the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi, where a marathon of meetings of civilian working teams will take place today and tomorrow. Despite this, representatives of the defense establishment, headed by the director general of the Ministry of Defense, Amir Eshel, are taking part in the delegation despite reports last weekend of their cancellation.

Photo: Ariel Kahana

According to the plan, in each area the relevant representatives of Israel and the Emirates will meet, with an American representative taking part in the meeting. The main topics to be discussed are the areas of banking, aviation, healthcare and space. Based on a plan formulated by the Ministry of Regional Cooperation, the scope of cooperation with the princesses is very wide.

The meeting is expected to end on Tuesday morning and the Israelis are expected to return to Israel. Adviser to the President of the United States, Jared Kushner, told Israel Today: "We will continue to strive for peace between Israel, the biblical homeland of the Jewish people, and its Arab and Muslim neighbors. I have never been so hopeful about peace. ".

"There were many obstacles"

In recent weeks, thorough and detailed staff work has been conducted in the Prime Minister's Office and in the State Department, in coordination with representatives of the Emirates and the United States, in order to prepare the talks. Under the guidance of Acting Prime Minister Ronen Peretz, the necessary issues Between countries. These include talks with the mutual opening of embassies, the issuance of visitor visas, the regulation of a tax treaty and the creation of a mechanism for cooperation between banks.

A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office illustrated this yesterday: "We are currently concentrating on the layout of the carpet, so that the business sector can step on it later."

Above the skies of Saudi Arabia, on the way to Abu Dhabi

El Al's LY971 flight left Ben Gurion Airport at 10:30 a.m., and is expected to land in Abu Dhabi in about three hours. This will be the first time an Israeli company has landed on the United Arab Emirates, and the historic event follows the peace agreement expected to be signed in the coming weeks.

The return flight will be LY972. The return flight, 971, matches the telephone area code of the Emirates - and the return flight, 972, matches the telephone area code of the State of Israel. The flight will pass over the skies of Saudi Arabia today, and El Al will be the first Israeli airline to fly on this route. The flight ticket that will be issued to passengers who will be on the flight today, has been specially designed for the festive day. The card reads "Making History" in three languages ​​- Hebrew, Arabic and English.

The "Israel Today" envoy on the historic flight to the UAE reports from Ben Gurion Airport

The plane that makes the flight is a Boeing 737-900. For the festive occasion, the word "peace" was written on the upper front of the plane in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic and English. The plane has 16 seats in the business class, where senior members of the American delegation and the Israeli delegation sit; The journalists and other people who joined are sitting in economy class at the back of the plane.

To operate the flight, El Al returned three senior pilots from the IDF. The pilot leading the crew is Tal Becker, with whom Tal Bina Naor and Gal Flevitz fly the plane. The three managed to fly the Boeing 737 for a qualifying flight last weekend, and yesterday they worked on the route And prepare for the historic event.

The aircraft also has a ductile protection system, a missile defense system manufactured by Elbit. The system operates using a laser beam that is launched towards the missile head and moves it away from the aircraft by disrupting the tracking. Among the staff members - Liat Elazar (50), whose father, who was an El Al employee, was killed in a terrorist attack while wearing an El Al uniform in Turkey exactly 40 years ago. "It is a great honor for me to make this flight as part of the peace process," she said, "I have not slept three days of excitement."

The flight service manager is Hedva Optovsky, who will retire immediately after the flight: "I flew with the late Begin, the late Rabin, the late Sharon, Barak and Netanyahu. I worked on El Al's route to Tehran and Brazil, I was on rescue flights and I worked during the Corona period. This is a very exciting way to end El Al's services after 46 years. It is an honor to do so on the peace flight, after which I will immediately take off my uniform and embark on a new path. "

Shimon Yaish participated in the preparation of the article