Israeli and US delegations head to UAE in first direct flight

The El Al airliner takes off (Ariel Schalit/AP)

A Star of David-adorned El Al plane has taken off from Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, carrying a high-ranking American and Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi in the first-ever direct commercial passenger flight to the United Arab Emirates.

The Israeli flag carrier’s flight marks the implementation of the historic US-brokered deal to normalise relations between the two nations and solidifies the long-clandestine ties between them that have evolved over years of shared enmity towards Iran.