Today, Sunday, the first direct flight took off from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv to Doha, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.
The plane took off with 170 Israeli passengers on board, on the first direct historic flight to Doha.
It is scheduled to operate 5 more flights to Qatar in the coming days, to transport thousands of Israelis to attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which starts this evening.
On the other hand, Alon Lavey, the spokesman for the Israeli delegation to the World Cup, said that a consular team will provide services to the Israelis in Qatar to attend the World Cup matches, and he also praised the "good relations that characterize the cooperation between the two countries."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry mentioned that it would also operate a consular office in Doha to handle the affairs of Israeli fans.
Israel and Qatar maintained economic relations until 2009 when the Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
Relations between the two countries were completely disconnected in 2011, as Israel decided to close its offices in Doha due to Qatar's support for the Palestinians.
However, a year ago, the governments of Israel and Qatar reached a diamond trade agreement, which allowed Israeli diamond dealers to enter Qatar.
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