Israelis, Palestinians To Fly Together On Same Flights For FIFA World Cup: 'Historic Development,' Says US

In a breakthrough agreement, Israeli and Palestinian fans will be able to fly directly to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar from Tel Aviv for the first time. 

What Happened: FIFA, on Thursday, announced that charter flights to Doha from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport for the tournament starting Nov. 20 would be open to all Palestinians.

This comes as a landmark agreement for Israel and Qatar — two countries without diplomatic relations — and Palestinians who have to apply for a hard-to-obtain airport permit to use Ben Gurion, as West Bank and Gaza do not have their own airport. Such permits are only approved, if at all, shortly before takeoff, according to Associated Press. 

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Israel and Doha’s relations have soured since the latter closed a trade office in 2008 over the Gaza war. Israeli citizens are not allowed ordinarily to fly directly to Qatar or enter the country on their Israeli passports. However, despite no diplomatic relations, Doha helps mediate between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers during the rounds of conflict.

The U.S. lauded the development and said the move will "benefit Israeli and Palestinian soccer fans alike as a step towards expanding greater freedom of travel for all."

"Today's announcement is a historic development and an important step that also holds great promise to bolster people to people ties and economic relations," said U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price.

Meanwhile, a Qatar World Cup ambassador earlier this week said homosexuality was "damage in mind" as some of the soccer players participating in the FIFA World Cup 2022 have raised concerns for the rights of their fans traveling to the event, especially LGBT+ individuals and women.

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