Israel’s first direct commercial aircraft From Tel Aviv landed in Doha on 20 November ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony despite the fact that Qatar and Israel have no diplomatic relations.
Speaking at the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday, the Head of Israel’s Public Diplomacy Directorate (PDD), Lior Haiat, announced that history has been created following the departure of the Israeli flight to Qatar.
First ever direct commercial flight between Israel and Qatar just departed – taking fans to #WorldCup2022 #QatarWorldCup2022
it's Cypriot Tus Airways 5b-ddl pic.twitter.com/tXpNpVCa6U
— avi scharf (@avischarf) November 20, 2022
On 10 November, FIFA said that the Cyprus-based Tus Airways will operate special direct flights to Qatar throughout the month-long mega football event.
In addition, it said that the Palestinian ticket holders and media fraternity will be able to travel through these chartered flights without facing any restrictions.
However, it is uncertain if citizens of the Israeli-occupied West Bank or Gaza Strip would be permitted to travel on these flights. In this regard, FIFA said that it would depend on Israel’s security conditions.
Note here that Palestinians from the above-mentioned areas experience extreme difficulties in traveling overseas. Therefore, they have to transit through Jordan due to the fact that Israel has banned them from accessing Ben Gurion Airport.
Meanwhile, Qatar has underlined that the arrival of Israeli flight will not alter its stance and relations with Israel. Its position is tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state via a two-state solution in line with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
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