A plane carrying Israelis from the Indian Ocean island country Seychelles landed in Saudi Arabia before returning to Tel Aviv on Tuesday, which Israel praised as a sign of goodwill because Washington is working to establish a formal relationship between the two countries.
Air Seychelles' flight was forced to land on Monday due to a power outage of 128 passengers. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said passengers spent the night at the Jeddah Airport Hotel and were sent back by the airline from an alternative plane.
Passengers described a terrible time when the cabin smelled so fast and the pilot said at Intercom that the plane was forced to stop in Saudi Arabia in an emergency Will be done, a state with which Israel has no air links or diplomatic relations.
Passengers said dozens of people were trapped on the plane and were useless on the plane trim, stressing that while Israeli authorities were longing to know what to do۔ Soon Saudi security forces reached a hotel for Israelis.
"It was terrible," the passenger Mayama Stahl recalled when he left Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport with dozens of other people late Tuesday، Some were apparently surprised by the crowds of journalists, photographers, and party balloons who welcomed them۔ "But we were all very well received ( Saudi people )۔ ... We were excited to see that we were fine and safe۔"
Passengers told the Associated Press that their experience in Jeddah was pleasant, some Saudis greeted them in Hebrew۔
PhightRadar24.com tracking data shows that Air Seychelles Airbus A320, Flight Number HM22, turned to Jeddah on Monday night when it was above the Red Sea۔ The airline did not respond to the comment request۔
Another Air Seychelles flew from Dubai to Jeddah on Tuesday to take the A320 passengers and take them to Tel Aviv۔ In 2022, Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on Israeli overflights during President Joe Biden's visit to the kingdom.
There are no formal relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia، Although they have in recent years established strong but informal links to their shared concerns about Iran's growing influence in the region۔ Under the former Trump administration in 2020, Israel and the four Arab states signed agreements to normalize، Biden is working to make a similar agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made an agreement with Saudi Arabia a major target، The incident was captured to highlight the possibility of improving relations.
He pointed to the map of the region behind him and said in a video recorded in Hebrew with Arabic subtitles، ’’ I greatly appreciate the warmth of the Saudi authorities with Israeli passengers whose flight was in distress. ‘‘ "I appreciate a good neighborhood."
There was no immediate response in Saudi Arabia.
The most powerful and richest Arab state has the ability to reshape the region and promote Israel's position in historical ways in a routine agreement with Saudi Arabia Is۔ But the use of such an agreement is a heavy lift because the state has said it has formally called Israel before resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict Will not recognize۔ Saudi Arabia also seems to want defense guarantees and access to US nuclear technology.
Under Israel's current government, it will be difficult for Palestinians to get a big discount from Israel Which consists of ultra-nationalists who support the expansion of ghettos on Palestinian soil and oppose the liberation of the Palestinians.
Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
