Israel Lists First Commercial Passenger Flight to UAE on Monday

Cars seen outside Abu Dhabi International Airport
Cars seen outside Abu Dhabi International Airport
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Israel Lists First Commercial Passenger Flight to UAE on Monday

Cars seen outside Abu Dhabi International Airport
Cars seen outside Abu Dhabi International Airport

Israel has listed an El Al flight taking off Monday for Abu Dhabi, which would be Israel's first commercial passenger flight to the United Arab Emirates after the two countries agreed to a US-brokered deal to normalize relations.

The website of the Israel Airports Authority listed the flight on Friday. It said the flight would be numbered LY971, a nod to the UAE’s international calling code number. A return flight to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport on Tuesday will be numbered LY972, Israel’s international calling code.

The direct flight between Ben Gurion Airport and the UAE's political capital of Abu Dhabi is due to carry an Israeli delegation and top aides to US President Donald Trump.

Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner will be among the US officials on the El Al flight departing on Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. (0700 GMT), Reuters quoted a US official as saying.

There are no official air links between Israel and the UAE.

In May, an Etihad Airways plane flew from the UAE to Tel Aviv to deliver supplies to use for the novel coronavirus epidemic, marking the first known flight by a UAE carrier to Israel.

The Israel-UAE deal awaits negotiations on details such as opening embassies, trade and travel links before it is officially signed.



Saudi Arabia Emphasizes Peaceful Cooperation to Achieve Global Security

Ambassador Abdul Mohsen bin Khothaila speaks during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. (Photo: Saudi Mission in Geneva)
Ambassador Abdul Mohsen bin Khothaila speaks during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. (Photo: Saudi Mission in Geneva)
TT

Saudi Arabia Emphasizes Peaceful Cooperation to Achieve Global Security

Ambassador Abdul Mohsen bin Khothaila speaks during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. (Photo: Saudi Mission in Geneva)
Ambassador Abdul Mohsen bin Khothaila speaks during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. (Photo: Saudi Mission in Geneva)

Saudi Arabia emphasized peaceful international cooperation as a means to achieve global prosperity, stability and security, stressing the importance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the necessity of its full implementation.

Ambassador Abdul Mohsen bin Khothaila, the Permanent Saudi Representative to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva, participated in the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.

The ambassador called for more effective international efforts to achieve the goals and universality of the NPT, urging non-party states to join the treaty and subject all their nuclear facilities to the comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Affirming the right to the peaceful use of nuclear technology under Article 4 of the Treaty, he underlined the importance of adhering to the highest standards of transparency and reliability, calling on all parties to cooperate to promote peaceful use for the benefit of global development and well-being.

He stated that the responsibility for making the Middle East a nuclear-weapon-free zone lies with the international community, especially the sponsors of the 1995 resolution on the Middle East.

Bin Khothaila condemned the recent statements and threats made by a member of the Israeli government regarding the use of nuclear weapons against the Palestinians, describing his words as violations of international law and a threat to global peace and security.

He further called for intensifying cooperation between the parties to the NPT to attain positive results at the next “review conference” in 2026, with the aim of achieving a safe world free of nuclear weapons.