Are Israel and Saudi Arabia on the road to normalization?
A series of reports from recent days indicate that behind the scenes there is another significant rapprochement between the countries, although at this stage it is still difficult to assess whether the ties between Riyadh and Jerusalem will be officially published.
A political source who spoke with "Israel Today" confirmed that there are indeed direct contacts with the Saudis but did not comment on specific reports.
"Except for the Iranians, we talk to almost everyone in the region, including Saudi Arabia," he said.
News site Axius reported that during the week two of President Biden's senior advisers - Brett McGurk, who serves as his envoy to the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, a former Israeli who serves as the president's adviser on energy, visited Riyadh.
The two reportedly discussed with the Saudis the transfer of the islands of Tiran and Fin from Egyptian sovereignty to Saudi sovereignty.
This is a complex transaction between the countries, which in light of the Camp David agreements between Israel and Egypt also requires approval from Jerusalem.
Egypt has agreed to give up the uninhabited islands in exchange for economic aid provided to it by Saudi Arabia.
Threaten strategic importance as they control the entrance to the Gulf of Eilat.
In addition, according to the report, the American emissaries discussed the promotion of normalization relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, the Globes newspaper revealed that Saudi Arabia had recently begun allowing Israeli businessmen to enter its territory with an Israeli passport, and that dozens of them had already taken advantage of the permit.
The businessmen visited the capital Riyadh and the "City of the Future" a speech that the Saudis are setting up on the Red Sea coast, and is considered one of the flagship projects of Regent Muhammad bin Salman.
Millions of dollars were signed between the parties in high-tech, water technologies and desert agriculture.
In 2020, then-Prime Minister Netanyahu also visited in a speech, and according to reports, he attended a tripartite meeting with Ben Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
King of Saudi Arabia Salman, Photo: Photo: Reuters
According to another report, in News 12, a "very senior" Israeli source recently visited Saudi Arabia and discussed with his hosts a series of security and other collaborations.
The senior was hosted, among other places, at the Royal Palace in Riyadh.
Already today, Saudi Arabia openly allows Israeli flights to pass through its airspace, but beyond that, ties between the two countries have remained secret and unofficial.
Between Jerusalem and Riyadh, there is an identity of interests on a number of issues, the most important of which is the Iranian nuclear threat that threatens the two countries.
As part of tensions with Tehran, the Saudis are involved in the fighting in Yemen, where the Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, control much of the country and occasionally initiate attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia.
Among other things, the Houthis launched ballistic missiles at Riyadh, Jeddah and other targets in Saudi Arabia, and attacked the kingdom's strategic oil facilities using skimmer bands.
The Israeli defense establishment is closely monitoring the Iranian establishment in Yemen, assuming that this could become another basis for launching Iranian attacks against Israel.
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