Israeli, American and United Arab Emirates delegates gathered Tuesday morning for a morning prayer service ahead of meetings about a peace agreement between the UAE and the Jewish State.
According to CBN News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a news conference that the meetings marked a “happy day for all citizens of Israel” and a peace deal with the UAE “will be a warm peace because it is based on economic cooperation with an entrepreneurial economy similar to ours with very large economic capabilities, with investment routes, or, with a big money that is also looking for investment routes, and for the first time the State of Israel, which has received investments from all over the world, is going to receive investments in the Middle East, from the Middle East, this is a huge change.”
The Israeli National Security adviser is leading the Israeli delegation, while the U.S. delegation is being led by President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“At this moment, and always, we feel proud to be Jews of the UAE. We wish the delegations success in their work and give thanks for the decisive and visionary leadership of the UAE’s leaders that has allowed for friendship with Israel,” Ross Kriel, the president of the Jewish Council of the Emirates — the Modern Orthodox community — told Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, according to the Times of Israel.
The delegates were part of the first nonstop flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi through Saudi airspace.
“History Made!” Ivanka Trump wrote on her Twitter. “Jared and NSA (Robert) O’Brien on the 1st commercial flight ever between Israel and the United Arab Emirates!”
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel and the UAE have already discussed possibly opening embassies in each other’s countries. The delegates are also set to talk about partnerships in health, foreign policy, civil aviation, finance, a civilian space program, tourism, culture and diplomatic affairs.
“Israeli and Emirati ministers, from foreign affairs to food security, have initiated their first official discussions on continuing and strengthening cooperation. We have already opened phone lines between the two countries and, as we speak, Israelis and Emiratis are collaborating on research we hope will lead to a breakthrough in the treatment of COVID-19,” the US, Israel, and the UAE said in a joint statement.
“All the countries hope and expect that in the near future our collective efforts will set in motion a cascade of positive changes, both large and small, that will put our respective peoples and the wider region on a solid path to security, prosperity, and peace,” the statement added.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Amir Levy/Stringer
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
