El Al Airlines to operate first Israel-Morocco flight on December 22
Israeli flag carrier El Al Airlines said on Sunday it would operate the first flight from Israel to Rabat, Morocco on Dec. 22 and that the plane would carry a joint US-Israeli delegation.
The direct flight, LY555, is expected to take six hours and follows a US-brokered deal earlier this month in which the countries agreed to normalize relations.
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Israel and Morocco agreed on Dec. 10 to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.
At the time, Moroccan King Mohammed told US President Donald Trump by phone that Morocco intended to facilitate direct flights for Israeli tourists to and from Morocco, according to a statement from Morocco's royal court.
Immediately following the announcement of the deal, El Al Israel Airlines said it was examining the possibility of establishing direct flights between Israel.
As part of the agreement, US President Donald Trump agreed to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old territorial dispute with Morocco pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory.
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Morocco to facilitate direct flights for Israelis to and from Morocco
Israel, Morocco agree to normalize relations after US-brokered deal