On Monday, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia, this Sunday, and held an under the table meeting with Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. This the first known encounter between the chief figureheads of Israel and Saudi Arabia.
BREAKING: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu travelled secretly yesterday to the city of Neom in Saudi Arabia and had a trilateral meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli source tells me. Netanyahu’s office didn’t deny the story
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 23, 2020
According to Hebrew language media, Kan public radio, and Army radio, the Israeli prime minister met the crown prince in the city of Neom, along the coast of the Red Sea. Reportedly, Netanyahu was accompanied by Yossi Cohen the head of Israel’s spy agency, Mossad. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo was also present.
Israeli media has reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which would mark the first known encounter between senior Israeli and Saudi officials. https://t.co/E9DPVj9mG1
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 23, 2020
Pompeo had traveled with a press pool, which accompanied him throughout his middle east tour, but left them at the airport when he left for the meeting with the crown prince.
No official statements have been dispatched by the US embassy, Netanyahu’s office, or the Saudi government.
In perhaps the most shocking news to emerge from Israel in years, Benny Gantz appears to have made up his mind about something and taken an actual decision https://t.co/JWp41LclcL
— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) November 23, 2020
Although, as per Israel’s daily newspaper Haaretz, aviation tracking data disclosed that a Gulfstream IV private jet took off around 1740 GMT, from Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. Reportedly, the jet was grounded for at least two hours before it flew back around midnight.
Without directly confirming the meeting, Netanyahu’s right-hand man, Topaz Luk, in a tweet earlier this morning, stated that the Israeli PM was out making peace.
גנץ עושה פוליטיקה בזמן שראש הממשלה עושה שלום pic.twitter.com/9MYFbufE9i
— Topaz Luk 🇮🇱 (@TopazLuk) November 23, 2020
Last week, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, explicitly revealed in an interview that amidst Gulf States normalization of relations with Israel, an unidentified country had been coercing Islamabad to recognize Israel.
Pakistani PM Imran Khan being pressured to recognize Israel pic.twitter.com/6E9gryf5zR
— LifeRacer (@LifeRacer_1) November 13, 2020
With Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates being under constant pressure from the Trump administration, have acknowledged and developed diplomatic ties with Israel, in line with Abraham Accordance. Saudi Arabia has been adamant with her support for the Palestinian movement and refuses to normalize ties with Israel unless Palestinian issues are resolved. Although the Saudi Crown Prince is in favor of establishing peace without compromising on the Palestinian cause.
Furthermore, as of yet the contents of the meeting have not been disclosed but Bloomberg reveal that transition from Trump to Biden administration and Iran Nuclear deal was on the agenda.
In the last couple of months – peace negotiations have started with several GCC countries led by the UAE in September 2020 in what was called the Abrahamic Accord.
Read more: Biden’s win; a flicker of hope for Iran?