AFP
Israel, FIFA and Qatar have reached an agreement to allow direct flights between Ben Gurion Airport and Qatar for the World Cup in an historic deal between the two counties.
Thousands of Israelis are expected to travel to Qatar despite security concerns surrounding Qatar’s relationship with Iran and Hamas. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “With this deal, Israelis and Palestinians will be able to fly together and enjoy soccer together”. The flights will be run by a foreign airline and will remain subject to Israel’s security measures; the airline contracted with the route has yet to be announced.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that the deal had taken months to negotiate and thanked the Foreign, Transportation, and Culture and Sports ministries for their work in securing a successful deal. The Director-General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Alon Ushpiz remarked: “We have successfully secured all guarantees, including access to consular services for Israelis during their stay in Qatar….As the first World Cup ever hosted in the Middle East, it promises to be a celebration of soccer and an opportunity for Israelis to build connections and share cultural experiences with people from across our region and the wider world”.
A Qatari spokesman for the tournament said Qatar has always been committed to letting “all ticket holders attend matches”, but he did not use the words Israeli or Israelis. Israel and Qatar do not currently have official diplomatic relations but Jerusalem does engage with Doha on permissions to distribute Qatari aid to the Gaza Strip. Although this deal represents an historic moment, analysts believe it highly unlikely that Qatar would join other Gulf States in normalising relations with Israel due to its relationship with Iran. Qatar has been very critical of the Abraham Accords and its relationship with Israel has been further soured this year with the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who the Qatari state and media accused Israel of deliberately killing.
