UPDATE - Palestine rejects Emirati aid sent via Israeli airport

UPDATES WITH MORE INFO; CHANGES LEDE, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ali Abo Rezeg

ANKARA (AA) - The Palestinian government rejected on Thursday to receive an aid shipment coming from the Gulf country of United Arab Emirates, according to the Palestinian health minister.

In a press conference, Mai Kaila said her country refused to receive the medical aid as the Emirati side ignored to coordinate with them.

She said: "The UAE has not coordinated with us regarding the medical aid, and we reject to receive it without coordination."

"We are a sovereign country, and they should have coordinated with us first," added the minister.

Citing informed sources, Maan News Agency, known for being close to the Palestinian Authority, said earlier on Thursday that the decision came as the aid arrived via an Israeli airport.

Earlier this week, an Emirati flight carrying medical aid for Palestinians landed in an Israeli airport.

The aid shipment came although the Gulf country has no official ties with Tel Aviv.

“The UAE authorities did not coordinate with the State of Palestine before sending the aid,” the government sources said, adding: “Palestinians refuse to be a bridge [for Arab countries] seeking to have normalized ties with Israel.”

They asserted that any assistance meant to be sent to the Palestinian people should be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority first.

“Sending them directly to Israel constitutes a cover for normalization,” they added.

Unlike Jordan and Egypt, both of which signed peace treaties with Israel in 1978 and 1994, respectively, other Arab states officially deny having ties with Israel, which has been, for decades, illegally occupying Palestinian territories.