Iran Press/Middle East: Israeli team which consist of 25 athletes will arrived in Abu Dhabi today.
The 2019 Special Olympics World Games will take place March 14-21 in Abu Dhabi. More than 7,000 athletes from 177 countries will compete in 24 summer sports, Iran Press reported.
These will be the first Special Olympics World Games in the Middle East/North Africa region. The Games kick off with a star-studded Opening Ceremony in the iconic Zayed Sports City Stadium.
Israeli athletes, for the first time, were allowed to compete under the Tel Aviv regime’s flag and to hear their Hatikvah anthem played, in the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2018 which took place on October 27.
Among Arab countries, Israel has diplomatic relations only with Egypt and Jordan, but there have been numerous reports of growing contacts between Saudi and Israeli officials too.
Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi have also increased backchannel cooperation in recent years.
In footage released by Omani state TV on October 26, 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was seen greeted by Oman's Sultan Sayyid Qaboos bin Said Al Said at the Bait al-Barakah Royal Palace in the coastal city of Seeb near the capital Muscat.
In Jun. 23, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the Royal Palace in the Jordanian capital on the sidelines of a visit to Amman by White House special adviser Jared Kushner and US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt. 101
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