Palestine says no coordination with UAE on aid plane

RAMALLAH

The Palestinian prime minister on Tuesday said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not coordinated with his government regarding any potential aid.

According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, a UAE plane will land Tuesday evening at the Israeli Ben Gurion Airport, near the city of Tel Aviv, on a direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Israel.

It said the trip was coordinated through the Israeli Foreign Ministry and that the plane, which has the UAE logo, will carry medical aid to the Palestinians.

"We are not aware of this aid, and we have heard about it from the media, and it was not coordinated with us about it," Mohammad Shtayyeh told reporters.

The prime minister went on to say: "We welcome any international aid to us, but after coordination and direct talks with us."

The Emirati move comes some three weeks after the Palestinian government refused to receive a UAE medical aid carried by a plane that landed at the Ben Gurion Airport.

The Palestinian government attributed its rejection of the aid to lack of coordination with the Emirati authorities.

The UAE does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, despite numerous reports of unannounced communications between the two countries.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat