Etihad in second flight to Israel, this time proclaiming its name

A second cargo flight from the United Arab Emirates in three weeks is scheduled to land in Israel on Tuesday, and this time the plane is expected to make the emerging transport links clearer by carrying the airline’s name.

The Etihad Airways jet is due to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport complete with its company symbol, said an official in Jerusalem, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

While Israel and the UAE don’t have diplomatic relations, ties between them have warmed in recent years, largely over a shared distrust of Iran. Still, there were no publicly known flights between the countries until the cargo shipment last month, which arrived in a white, unmarked jet.

An Etihad spokesperson confirmed that it would deliver additional medical aid for the Palestinians on June 9, after operating a dedicated humanitarian cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv on May 19. The spokesperson didn’t reply to emailed questions regarding whether the plane would carry the company’s insignia.

The shipment contains respirators, which will be transferred to the Palestinians through the United Nations, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said. The plane is scheduled to depart from Ben Gurion at 10:50 p.m., an Israel Airports Authority spokesman said, without providing a landing time or any further details.

The aid is probably destined for Hamas-ruled Gaza, the Times of Israel reported. The Palestinian Authority, which is responsible for territories in the West Bank, said following the first shipment that it would decline to accept any of it, because it wasn’t coordinated with them. The Palestinian news agency Maan reported that the supplies were rejected because the Palestinian Authority doesn’t want to serve as a bridge for the normalization of ties between the UAE and Israel.