Prime Minister says UAE did not coordinate aid flight with PA

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said on Tuesday that the United Arab Emirates again did not coordinate with the Palestinian Authority over another aid flight via Israel.

Shtayyeh made his comment after the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that an Etihad Airways aircraft will land at Ben Gurion Airport on a direct flight from Abu Dhabi carrying medical aid for the Palestinians.

“We are not aware of this aid, having just heard about it from the media,” explained the PA official. “If any country, whether Arab or European or international wants to help us, we welcome that. We don’t say no, as long as it is not conditional and as long as it is fully coordinated with us.”

According to the media report, the flight was coordinated through the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even though the UAE has no diplomatic relations with the occupation state. There have been numerous media claims of unofficial contacts between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi.

Three weeks ago, the PA also refused to receive medical aid sent by the UAE on an aircraft that landed at Ben Gurion Airport because it was not coordinated with the Palestinian government.

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