Israel has "
no objection
" to the transfer of two strategic islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia, considered a prerequisite for a possible process of normalization between these two countries, sources familiar with the matter told AFP.
US President Joe Biden, who is currently on his first tour of the Middle East, met with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday and Thursday and is due to make an unprecedented official flight from the Jewish state to Saudi Arabia on Friday.
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Israel and Saudi Arabia could settle during Joe Biden's visit the question of the return to Riyadh of the islets of Tiran and Sanafir, currently in the hands of Egypt and which control access to the Israeli port of 'Eilat.
The Egyptian authorities had already given the green light to this handover but it must also be approved by Israel under the terms of the 1979 peace agreements between these two countries.
However, on the night of Thursday to Friday, a few hours from Joe Biden's flight, senior officials familiar with the matter told AFP that the Jewish state "
had no objection
" to the retrocession of these two islets. .
Israel said on Tuesday it hoped for a "
beginning
" of normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the visit this weekend of the American president in this Arab monarchy of the Gulf and regional power.
“
President Biden flying directly to Saudi Arabia sums up the dynamic of the past few months.
There is a delicate, fragile, new relationship, in several respects.
We hope (…) that these are the first steps, the beginning, of a process of normalization
, “said a senior Israeli official who requested anonymity to the press on Tuesday.
Israel, which has signed peace treaties with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), normalized its relations in 2020 with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in particular within the framework of the "
Abraham Accords
" and hopes to add Saudi Arabia to this list.
In the context of an Israeli green light for the return of the islets of Tiran and Sanafir, Saudi Arabia could allow Israeli planes to fly over its airspace, or even charter flights between the two countries to facilitate access to the pilgrimage to Mecca, to the Muslims of Israel, senior officials suggested without confirming these measures.
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