Saudi Arabia opens airspace for UAE-Israel flights

RIYADH/CAIRO — Saudi Arabia agreed Wednesday to permit UAE flights to "all countries" to overfly the kingdom, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled more direct flights linking the United Arab Emirates with Israel.

The announcement comes after the first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi on Monday, which passed through Saudi airspace, to mark new relations between Israel and the UAE.

The official Saudi Press Agency said the kingdom had accepted an Emirati request to allow the use of its airspace for "flights heading to the UAE and departing from it to all countries".

Netanyahu, meanwhile, announced that Monday's historic first commercial flight of an Israeli aircraft direct to the UAE across Saudi Arabia would not be the last.

"Now there is another tremendous breakthrough," he wrote in a statement shortly after the Saudi announcement.

"Israeli planes and those from all countries will be able to fly directly from Israel to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and back," Netanyahu said, without giving any timeline.

"Flights will be cheaper and shorter, and it will lead to robust tourism and develop our economy," he said.

Saudi Arabia has said it will not establish diplomatic ties with Israel until the it has signed an internationally recognised peace accord with the Palestinians.

In March 2018, Air India launched the first scheduled service to Israel that is allowed to cross Saudi airspace.

It was seen at the time as a sign of a behind-the-scenes improvement in ties between the Arab kingdom and Israel.

In 2002, Saudi Arabia sponsored the Arab Peace Initiative which called for Israel's complete withdrawal from the Palestinian territories occupied in the 1967 War  and an equitable solution for Palestinian refugees.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said Wednesday the UAE-Israel normalisation accord represents a step towards regional peace by preserving Palestinian rights and Israeli security.

In a phone call with Netanyahu, Sisi voiced his support for “any steps that would bring peace” to the volatile Middle East.

He welcomed measures that “preserve the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, allow for the establishment of their independent state and provide security for Israel”.

Sisi warned against any unilateral decisions that “would undermine the chances for peace” and called for talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.