Jerusalem (Israel), March 12: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled his planned historic visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) scheduled on Thursday amid a diplomatic raw with Jordan, the Prime Minister's office said.
According to a statement from the office, the cancellation is due to Jordan's refusal to give permission to the flight to its airspace.
"Netanyahu was expected to visit the UAE today, but due to difficulties in coordinating his flight over Jordan's airspace, the visit has been postponed," said the statement.
The office believes that Jordan imposed the restrictions probably because Israel canceled on Wednesday a planned visit by Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site in annexed East Jerusalem which is holy to both Muslims and Jews.
Bin Abdullah's visit was canceled due to "a dispute over security and safety arrangements at the site," according to the statement.
Later on Thursday, Jordan announced it would allow the Israeli prime minister to fly over Jordan, but Netanyahu and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed decided to reschedule the visit for another time, according to Israel.
It is the fourth time Netanyahu has postponed his first official visit to the UAE.
Israel and the UAE signed a normalization agreement in the White House on Sept. 15, 2020. UAE and Bahrain became the first Gulf countries to agree to form official relations with Israel.
Source: Xinhua