The first commercial flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates UAE has landed in Abu Dhabi, marking a major step in normalizing relations after the announcement of a peace deal.

The three-hour flight carried a delegation of Israeli and US officials including Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser JARED KUSHNER and Israel's National Security Adviser MEIR BEN-SHABBAT.

The UAE has become only the third Arab country in the Middle East to recognize Israel since its founding in 1948, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

On Saturday the UAE abolished a law boycotting Israel which had been in place since 1972, and earlier this month the two countries opened direct telephone services for the first time.