Weekly News Digest – October 4, 2021.
1. Israeli FM Lapid inaugurates embassy on Bahrain visit.
Lapid visiting Bahrain one year after a US-brokered normalization of ties between the two countries.
2. Israel takes part in Expo Dubai for the first time.
The Israeli pavilion, which includes a large illuminated sign saying “toward tomorrow” using both Arabic and Hebrew — will be open to all.
“Our pavilion… is made of things that integrate us, that show how similar we are,” Menachem Gantz told AFP, the spokesman of Israel’s Pavilion at the six-month world fair.
“The ‘sand’ we’re standing on symbolizes the dunes, and the topography of Israel and the Emirates is very similar to it.”
The UAE and Israel have sought to emphasize the economic dividend offered by normalization.
Copyright: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
3. First EgyptAir flight between Cairo and Tel Aviv lands at Ben Gurion Airport.
The route had been discreetly operated by subsidiary Air Sinai for decades in unmarked aircraft, but the commercial line will now be openly run by the national carrier.