Saudi Arabia opens airspace to all Israel-UAE flights

Saudi Arabia has allowed all flights to and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to pass through its airspace.

The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) has allowed all its flights to pass through its airspace at the request of the UAE General Civil Aviation.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said the agreement would not change the kingdom’s position on Palestine.

He said in a Tweet that allowing flights to and from the United Arab Emirates to pass through Saudi airspace will not change the kingdom’s strong position on Palestine and its people.

He further said that Saudi Arabia appreciates all efforts to achieve lasting peace under the Arab Peace Initiative.

It should be noted that a few days before the peace agreement between the UAE and Israel on August 13, a few days ago, the Israeli and US delegations arrived in the UAE for the first time on an Israeli commercial flight.

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The US delegation was led by Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and son-in-law of the US president, and Robert O’Brien, a national security adviser, while Mir Ben Shabat, O’Brien’s counterpart, led the Israeli team.

Before the formal start of the talks, the US and Israeli delegations reached Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, via a commercial flight from Tel Aviv via Saudi territory, marking a new chapter in the history of aviation.

It may be recalled that on August 13, the UAE announced the establishment of friendly relations with Israel, after which it has faced severe criticism from Muslim countries, especially Iran and Turkey.

No other Arab state has yet signalled its recognition of Israel, while most have rejected the resumption of relations in the current context.