During the upcoming World Cup in Doha, direct constitution flights will function between Israel and Qatar, which shouldn’t have formal diplomatic ties, FIFA mentioned on Thursday, facilitating the presence of eligible Israeli and Palestinian followers.
Football’s world governing physique mentioned it had allowed match ticket holders and legitimate Haya Fan ID on flights from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to Hamad International in Doha in the course of the one-month occasion.
“With this deal, Israel and Palestine will be able to fly together and enjoy football together,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino mentioned within the assertion.
The assertion didn’t specify whether or not this might apply to Palestinians dwelling within the Israeli-occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. An unnamed spokesman for Qatar’s match operator Q22 mentioned in a FIFA assertion, the settlement requires Palestinian ticket holders and the media to “travel without restrictions on these chartered flights as they have an equal right to enjoy the tournament.” “
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid mentioned in an announcement that a number of months of talks led to an settlement to open “an Israeli office in Qatar to provide services to fans arriving for the World Cup”. Israel’s overseas ministry mentioned in an announcement that “it was agreed that an Israeli consular team would provide consular services to Israeli citizens (participating in the World Cup).” The assertion didn’t specify the place the crew could be positioned.
FIFA mentioned a Doha-based journey firm, in coordination with Israel’s overseas ministry, would offer consular help to Israeli guests to Qatar in the course of the World Cup, the primary to be held within the Middle East and run from November 20 to December 18. Is.
In June, when Israel introduced that residents in Qatar may take part within the World Cup, Lapid, who can be overseas minister, mentioned it “opens a new door for us to warm relations.” A Qatari official mentioned the settlement on direct flights doesn’t change Qatar’s stance on normalizing relations with Israel, which has been linked to the Palestinian state.
“This is part of Qatar’s commitment to FIFA’s hosting needs and should not be politicised,” the official mentioned. “Because of this agreement, Palestinians will now be able to enjoy the first World Cup in the Arab and Muslim world”.
Israeli passport holders can normally journey to Qatar solely on particular visas issued for sporting fixtures or conferences. There are not any current direct flights between the 2 nations. A supply accustomed to the settlement, who declined to be named because of sensitivity, mentioned talks had been held with Royal Jordanian Airlines to function World Cup constitution flights.
The FIFA assertion mentioned the flight preparations are “subject to the safety requirements and operational capabilities of Israel”. At least 8,000 Palestinians and three,900 Israelis have utilized for Haya playing cards, the supply mentioned. Qatar’s Gulf Arab neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, solid ties with Israel in 2020 beneath US-brokered agreements.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
