Direct flights between Dubai-Tel Aviv to start from December 6

Emirates is to start daily flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv on December 6, the airline announced, in the latest sign of deepening relations since the UAE and Israel normalised ties in September last year.

The Dubai-based carrier, one of the largest in the world, said the new service would also link Israel seamlessly with its global route network.

Low-cost carrier Flydubai launched the first commercial flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai just a few months after last year’s agreement.

Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad and Israeli carrier Arkia now also offer regular flights.

The UAE’s normalisation of its relations with Israel, in a deal brokered by then US president Donald Trump’s administration, broke with decades of Arab consensus and infuriated Palestinians and their supporters, who pointed out that the deal rewarded Israel while it continued to illegally occupy the West Bank and besiege the Gaza Strip.