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Qatar's national carrier does not operate direct flights to Israel, Royal Jordanian Airlines is expected to take over
Photo: Urbanandsport / NurPhoto / IMAGO
During the World Cup in Qatar from November 20th to December 18th there will be direct flights from Israel to the Arab country for the first time.
As the world soccer association Fifa announced, Israelis and Palestinians will be able to fly temporarily on direct charter flights from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv to Doha.
Both countries had agreed on this.
The prerequisite is a fan ID, which is required for entry to Qatar, and a valid flight ticket for travel to and from the country.
Israel and Qatar do not have diplomatic relations.
Israelis are not normally allowed to enter Qatar unless they have another citizenship in addition to Israel or a special visa.
Israel did not qualify for the World Cup, but around 3,800 Israelis and 8,000 Palestinians bought tickets for the tournament.
"With this agreement, Israelis and Palestinians can fly together and enjoy football together," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
It is not yet clear whether they will actually be able to fly together.
So far, Palestinians have no access to Israel's central air hub, Ben Gurion Airport.
Palestinian fans may therefore be forced to use the Qatar connections from Jordan, which are commonly used by Palestinians.
Lapid and blinking praise the step
Like the flights from Israel, they are expected to be operated by Royal Jordanian Airlines, Jordan's national airline, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, and will fly via Saudi Arabia.
Israel's outgoing Prime Minister Jair Lapid welcomed the agreement without explicitly mentioning the Palestinians' access to the tournament.
It is "great news for football fans and all citizens of Israel."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the flights a "historic step" that promises "to strengthen people-to-people ties."
Qatar's position on Israel remains unchanged
The agreement had been worked hard for months.
A spokesman for organizers in Qatar told Reuters that the announcement underscored their commitment to complying with Fifa guidelines.
This includes the right of everyone to be present at the games.
However, the agreement on direct flights does not change Qatar's position on normalizing relations with Israel, which is linked to Palestinian statehood.
"This is part of Qatar's commitment to comply with FIFA's hosting requirements and should not be politicised," the official said.
A Qatari government official told AFP: "Qatar has informed the Israelis that any escalation in Jerusalem, Gaza or the West Bank during this period will result in the cancellation of the agreement, including direct flights."
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