Saudi Arabia breaks 72-year taboo with green light to Israeli flights
Israeli airlines will be allowed to cross through Saudi Arabia on a regular basis, shattering a 72-year taboo as Gulf Arab nations and the Jewish state draw steadily closer together.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia approved a United Arab Emirates request to use the kingdom’s airspace “for all flights coming to the United Arab Emirates and leaving to all countries,” a consequential, if oblique outreach to Israel. The short statement by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, citing an unidentified official at the aviation authority, was quickly followed by a tweet from the foreign minister.
Two days earlier, Saudi Arabia allowed Israel’s flagship carrier, El Al Israel Airlines, to fly over its territory for the first time to hold a first round of peace talks with the UAE in Abu Dhabi.
