Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The first known direct commercial flight between Israel and Bahrain landed Wednesday in the island kingdom, just a week after it signed a deal alongside the United Arab Emirates to normalise relations.
Flight data showed an Israir Airlines Airbus A320 landed at Bahrain International Airport after a nearly three-hour flight from Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport.
Also read: Netanyahu sees direct Israel-Bahrain flights after normalisation deal
It comes a day after Netanyahu spoke by phone with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman to map out the two countries' new relationship.
The flight was made without ceremony, in sharp contrast to the first El Al flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates at the end of August. That plane carried US and Israeli officials, including President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as media.
Also read: Bahrain joins UAE in normalising ties with Israel, Trump announces
Bahrain's decision to normalise ties with Israel followed a similar move by the United Arab Emirates.
Both accords were inked at a September 15 ceremony hosted by US President Donald Trump.
Only two other Arab states have previously signed agreements with Israel, Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979.
The Palestinians have condemned the latest deals as a "stab in the back" for their aspirations to establish an independent state of their own.