A number of senior Israeli security and political figures have visited Saudi Arabia in recent years - this can be published now, in light of the current American effort to bring the two countries together.
Israelis' visits to Riyadh have been going on for more than a decade.
These are secret visits, except for one that has never been made public.
The only exception was former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit in November 2020 to the Red Sea city of Ni'um, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The meeting was also attended by then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Netanyahu went to this meeting in a private plane, which was specially leased.
Most of the other flights of senior Israeli officials to the kingdom were also made by private jets.
The person who organized the meeting on the Israeli side at the time, and of course accompanied it, was the former head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen.
Cohen is not the only Mossad chief to visit Saudi Arabia;
His two predecessors, Meir Dagan and Tamir Pardo, also visited Riyadh.
Meetings were also held at lower levels in the institution, led by the heads of the "World" division - the division in the ministry responsible for international relations are with countries with which Israel has diplomatic relations, and especially with countries with which relations are conducted secretly, such as Saudi Arabia.
Will help with efforts?
Biden at a diplomatic meeting in Saudi Arabia (archive), Photo: AP
Senior members of the IDF and the defense establishment have also visited Saudi Arabia in the last decade. The first and most prominent of them was Bnei Gantz, who visited Saudi Arabia during his time as chief of staff.
Meetings with the Saudis were also held at other levels and elsewhere, with the participation of several generals, as well as various officials from the Ministry of Defense.
Several heads of the National Security Council, including Cohen and Meir Ben-Shabbat, also visited Riyadh.
Representatives of the National Security Council have also held meetings with senior Saudi officials in third countries, mainly in the Gulf and Europe.
These meetings are intended to strengthen security coordination between the countries, which face a long line of common threats, led by Iran.
Saudi Arabia is frequently attacked by Iranian envoys - the Houthis in Yemen - mainly by ballistic missiles, and more recently also by drones and cruise missiles. .
In the middle of the previous decade, Israel helped Saudi Arabia prepare and cope better with the challenges posed by ISIS, which threatened the stability of Sunni regimes throughout the region.
Saudi Arabia was not the only country in the region that did not maintain relations with Israel and enjoyed such assistance: various publications revealed that Israel had intensive ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain prior to signing the "Abraham Accords", as well as a number of other countries choosing to stay out of the agreements.
The elimination - and the turnaround
The Israeli effort to help Saudi Arabia also relies in part on Israel's technological advantage.
According to various publications, Cohen, as head of the Mossad, opened the door to the NSO company, which sold to the Saudis its spyware, Pegasus.
Subsequently, Saudi Arabia also acquired cyber capabilities from other Israeli companies, some directly and some through subcontracts with foreign companies.
The use of NSO technologies has made headlines following the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashukji, who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
A series of publications linked the journalist's follow-up to Pegasus software - a claim that NSO has consistently denied.
Israel has also been accused of encouraging the sale of technologies to undemocratic regimes, which have used them to track down political opponents, human rights activists and journalists.
After another wave of publications last year, Israel tightened the conditions for the sale of offensive cyber technologies, including to Saudi Arabia.
NSO had stopped its sales in the country even earlier.
Effort to tighten the hinge
Hashukaji's assassination still obscures the relationship between the Biden government and the government in Saudi Arabia, and especially the connection with Ben Salman - the most powerful man in the kingdom.
The Americans actually boycotted it, but now there seems to be some change in their approach.
The change may be due, among other things, to Washington's desire to strengthen its regional alliance against Iran, after talks to sign a new nuclear deal stalled.
US President Biden will visit Riyadh next month, following his visit to Israel. Last week, journalist Barak Ravid reported on the Walla website on an American skipping trip between Jerusalem and Riyadh, in an attempt to lead to a breakthrough in relations between the two countries. Salman, who is the key figure in relations with Israel, Ben Salman - who sees Israel as a stabilizing factor in the region - has been the best man in recent years. Salman.
Muhammad bin Salman meets with Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen (archive), Photo: Reuters
Israel has a strong interest in advancing relations with Saudi Arabia.
The main reason for this is security policy - tightening the axis that opposes Iran and its protégés and other radicals in the region, as well as creating additional leverage for the Palestinians.
Another reason for this is economic - the desire to promote deals between rich Saudi Arabia and Israeli companies.
In recent years, many direct and indirect meetings have taken place between Israeli companies and various Saudi officials, both official and business.
The Saudis are showing great interest in acquiring Israeli capabilities, especially in the fields of security, technology and agriculture.
Some of the contacts have matured or are expected to mature into deals, and Israel hopes that the matter will be accelerated, if the Americans do succeed in promoting a significant breakthrough in relations between the two countries.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us