Telephone service begins between Israel and UAE

Telephone service between the United Arab Emirates and Israel begins working, as the two countries open diplomatic ties, part of a deal brokered by the US that has required Israel to freeze plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

Associated Press journalists in Jerusalem and Dubai have been able to call each other from both landline and cellular phones registered to Israel’s country code +972.

Israel’s Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel welcomes UAE authorities for removing the call block.

“Many economic opportunities will now be opened, and such trust-building steps are an important step in furthering the interests of both countries,” Hendel says in a statement.

Officials in the UAE have not immediately acknowledged the lines have begun working.

In the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, a recorded message in Arabic and English would typically play, prior to today, saying calls to +972 numbers could not be connected. The advent of internet calling allowed people to get around the ban, though those calls too were often interrupted.

Some in Israel used Palestinian mobile phone numbers with +970 numbers, which those in the UAE could call.

Meanwhile, Israeli news websites that have previously been blocked by UAE authorities, including The Times of Israel, can now be accessed without using means to bypass internet filtering in the Emirates.

The connection of phone service represents the first concrete sign of the deal between the Emiratis and Israelis.

— with AP