The historic flight carrying Israeli and US officials landed in Rabat on Tuesday afternoon, marking a symbolic start to the new era of peace between Israel and Morocco.
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The two countries agreed – following US mediation – to normalize ties several weeks ago. On Tuesday, the first-ever official flight from Tel Aviv to the Moroccan capital took place, with Israel National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat on board along with US President Donald Trump's Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and US Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz. Upon arrival, the captain of the El Al plan greeted the control tower with "As-Salam Aleikum," which means "Peace be upon you" in Arabic.
Prior to their departure from Israel Kushner said that the event turns the normalization deal into a reality, adding that several years ago, when Trump flew from Saudi Arabia to Israel, it was hard to get clearance from traffic controllers so that he could travel directly, but now "this happens on a permanent basis." Kushner thanked President Trump for this development, adding that "this is amazing that we have broken barriers."
Morocco is the fourth country in as many months to normalize ties with Israel. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan also announced they would establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, in what has been regarded as one of the most important regional developments in recent years, which could also signal a shift in Saudi Arabia's approach to the Jewish state.
The Moroccan and Israeli officials signed various bilateral agreements aimed at putting the newly announced peace deal into concrete terms. Morocco also announced that the two countries would establish diplomatic missions in the coming weeks in Tel Aviv and Rabat.
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