First Emirati cargo ship docks in Haifa as UAE, Israel launch direct shipping route
An Emirati cargo ship has arrived in the port city of Haifa in the occupied territories, officially inaugurating a new direct shipping route connecting the United Arab Emirates to Israel.
The ship, called MSC Paris, transferred eight containers filled with electronics, cleaning supplies, iron and firefighting equipment from Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port to Haifa.
Eshel Armony, chairman of the board at Haifa Port, says “we’re going to see this line once a week by MSC and … later on maybe we’ll have even more.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said trade with the UAE was the “beginning of something huge”.
“Today a cargo ship came from Dubai. With goods. Goods that by the way are very cheap and will benefit Israelis,” Netanyahu said in a speech to parliament.
Israeli officials have estimated bilateral trade could reach as much as $4 billion a year - and nearly all goods will have to travel by sea.
An MSC spokesman added that it was the first time containers originating in the UAE had been discharged in Haifa on one of their ships.
The spokesman said the MSC Paris was part of its Indus Express service, which originates in the United Arab Emirates and calls at Indian ports, the Mediterranean and the United States.
Just a few months ago, such a journey from Dubai to Haifa would have been unthinkable. However, the UAE in August announced a controversial normalization deal with Israel which laid the ground for the new trade route.
In mid-August, Israel and the UAE announced in a joint statement, issued by the White House, that they had agreed to the full normalization of relations, sparking anger among Palestinians and other supporters of the Palestinian cause against Israeli occupation.
Later that month, Abu Dhabi officially canceled a law that boycotted Israel and prevented trade as well as financial agreements with Tel Aviv after signing a deal to normalize relations.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan had issued a federal decree aimed at "abolishing the Federal Law No. 15 of 1972 regarding boycotting Israel and the penalties thereof.”
Elaborating on the decree and its scope of function, the news agency said companies and individuals in the UAE would now be able to sign agreements with firms or individuals residing in Israel.
The United Arab Emirates, which long portrayed itself as an advocate of Palestine’s cause, has been harshly criticized for “stabbing the Palestinian nation in the back by making peace with Israel”.
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