Netanyahu’s Trip to UAE Canceled Following Spat With Jordan

Netanyahu’s Trip to UAE Delayed Due to Jordan Spat, Reports Say

Alisa Odenheimer

11 Mar 2021, 07:01 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned trip to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday was canceled because of a spat with Jordan, his office said in a text message.

Jordan didn’t authorize the flight path of Netanyahu’s plane over its territory in a timely fashion, the statement said. It apparently was piqued that its crown prince’s proposed visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was canceled on Wednesday after a dispute over security arrangements, it added.

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Jordan eventually authorized the flight, but too late for the visit to go ahead, it said. It will take place another time, it added.

This was to have been Netanyahu’s first visit to the UAE since the countries signed a normalization agreement in September. The trip, which he could use to try to burnish his image as a statesman ahead of Israel’s March 23 election, has been rescheduled several times.

Netanyahu will instead meet with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Jerusalem to discuss cooperation on developing and producing vaccines, the statement said.