SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the Saudi crown prince in Saudi Arabia, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Monday, the first publicly confirmed trip to the kingdom by an Israeli leader amid a diplomatic flurry prompted by regional fears of Iran.
Earlier, Israel’s Army Radio and Kan Radio both reported that Netanyahu had secretly flown on Sunday to the Saudi Red Sea town of Neom for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to Reuters.
Education Minister Yoav Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet and Likud party, confirmed the Saudi meeting had taken place, describing it as an “amazing achievement”, Reuters reported.
“The very fact the meeting happened, and was outed publicly, even if half-officially right now, is a matter of great importance,” Gallant told Army Radio.
The Israeli media reports said Netanyahu had been joined on the trip by Mossad director Joseph (Yossi) Cohen, who has spearheaded discreet diplomatic outreach to Gulf Arab states.
Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has traditionally championed the Palestinian cause and shunned all official contacts with Israel. But the kingdom, its Gulf allies and Israel have a shared deep distrust of Iran.
News of the meeting came a day after Netanyahu, in an apparent message to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, said in a speech there should be no return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal abandoned by President Donald Trump.
Asked on Saturday whether Riyadh had changed its position on Israel, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the kingdom had favored normalization “for a long time”, but on condition Israel and the Palestinians reach “a permanent and full peace deal”.
