Mystery Plane Makes Secret Trips Between Israel and Gulf State: Reports

A foreign business aircraft was detected to have made several flights between Tel Aviv's international airport and the undisclosed Gulf state recently, spending "a few days" in the Gulf state before flying back to Israel, media report.

MOSCOW, December 2 (Sputnik) — An unnamed civilian airplane has been found to be flying on a fixed route between Israel and an unidentified Gulf state, Haaretz reported Tuesday.

According to the newspaper's analysis of flight data, a foreign business aircraft was detected to have made several flights between Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport and the undisclosed Gulf state recently, spending "a few days" in the Gulf state before flying back to Israel. So far, the nationality of the person or organization making these flights has not been ascertained, nor has the purpose of the trips been established.

"We have to remain discreet and cannot provide you with any details regarding this operation," a spokesperson for the small airline that owns the plane in question was quoted as saying by Haaretz. The spokesperson added that the requested information is kept confidential "as it concerns a private client."

Business relations between Israel and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf are next to non-existent due to the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict and following the 2010 killing of a senior official of the Palestinian group Hamas in Dubai attributed by many to Israel's intelligence agency Mossad.

However, despite the lack of official diplomatic or economic ties, Israeli companies have reportedly been conducting business deals with Gulf states in secret. Haaretz earlier reported that Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a diplomatic mission in an unnamed Gulf state in 2013.