White House advisor Jared Kushner voiced hope Monday for a more peaceful era in the Middle East as he was boarding the first commercial flight to take off from Israel for the United Arab Emirates.
Israel flag carrier El Al's Flight 971 took off from Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv at 11:15am, carrying a joint delegation of U.S. and Israeli officials headed for Abu Dhabi to discuss the details of the normalization agreement.
"While this is a historic flight, we hope that it will start an even more historic journey in the Middle East and beyond," Kushner said shortly before boarding the plane.
"The future does not have to be predetermined by the past. This is a very hopeful time, and I believe that so much peace and prosperity is possible in this region and around the world."
Kushner, President Donald Trump's advisor and son-in-law, is leading the American delegation along with U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien.
"I prayed yesterday at the [Western] Wall that Muslims and Arabs throughout the world will be watching this flight, recognizing that we are all children of God," Kushner told reporters.
The Israel-UAE agreement to normalize ties was announced by Trump on August 13, making the UAE the first Gulf country and only the third Arab nation to establish relations with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.
The word "peace" was painted on the plane's cockpit in Arabic, English and Hebrew.