Is Saudi Arabia the next country to normalize ties with Israel?
Monday, 23 November 2020 (15:03 IST)
Two Israeli radio stations have said the prime minister flew to Saudi Arabia for meetings with senior officials. Ties between the countries have warmed recently over their shared concerns about Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Neither Netanyahu's office nor the US State Department have commented on the reports by Israeli army radio and the country's Kan network.
Flight from Tel Aviv
A Gulfstream IV private jet took off just after 1740 GMT from Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, according to data from website FlightRadar24.com.
The flight traveled south along the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula before turning toward the Saudi city of Neom and landing just after 1830 GMT, according to the data. The flight took off from Neom at around 2150 GMT and followed the same route back to Tel Aviv.
The crown prince was in Neom at the time for a meeting with Pompeo.
The US secretary of state traveled with an American press pool on his trip throughout the Mideast, but left them at the Neom airport when he went into his visit with the crown prince.
The Trump administration has helped broker peace deals between Israel and Saudi Arabia's neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The normalization of ties has been largely on shared concerns about Iran.
Riyadh has said in the past in it will only recognize Israel once the Palestinians have an independent state.
Israelis — mostly Muslims going on pilgrimage — have been traveling to Saudi Arabia for years. But they usually do so with special permission or by using foreign passports.
