It has been an open secret for years that the two small Middle East countries have been flirting with each other. Their strongest bond is having a common enemy in Iran and they have often shared information about that.
READ MORE: Deal between Israel, UAE thwarts resolution for Middle East conflict, Palestinians say
Israel produces super high-tech security products. The UAE can afford to buy them and apparently does. Israeli diplomats, businessmen, intrepid tourists, even spies have become frequent visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, though officially, at least, Israelis were banned from the sheikhdoms.
The Jewish state should feel a little less isolated today. El Al has some (but not a lot) of flights to Europe and North America and a few to Asia. But getting anywhere in the neighbourhood, including Africa, and to many smaller destinations in Europe and Asia is complicated, time-consuming and expensive.
The air link with Jordan has been a main conduit for Israelis headed abroad. But the connecting flights from Amman are nothing like the hundreds of destinations that can be reached every day from the UAE on Emirates Airlines or Etihad Airlines. And Israelis love to travel. Living in a country less than half the size of Nova Scotia, COVID-19 travel restrictions have been giving them a particularly bad case of cabin fever.
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Israel, Palestine
Right. Now we got it. Nothing to do with the Palestinians really.