A Hebrew newspaper exposed details of secret contacts between the Saudi regime and Israel related to promoting normalization between the two sides in exchange for a role for the regime in the administration of holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.
Israel Hayom revealed secret contacts between the Saudi regime and Israel in the context of the plan of US President Donald Trump and the Prime Minister of the Israeli occupation, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The newspaper stated that the contacts aim to give the Kingdom a place and a role in the management of Islamic endowments in occupied Jerusalem, and integration of representatives of the Saudi family into the “Endowment Management Board” in occupied Jerusalem.
The newspaper said that high-level Saudi diplomats acknowledged in an interview with that “the talk is about sensitive contacts that were carried out under the cover of secrecy and at a low frequency through a diminished crew of diplomats and high-level security parties from Israel, the United States and Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to advance the deal of the century deal.”
The newspaper quoted a high-ranking Saudi source as saying that a few months ago, Jordanians were expressing strong opposition to any change in the Islamic Endowments Council at Al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming that the change in the Jordanian position came after the Turkish “intensive” role in occupied Jerusalem generally in Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular.
According to the newspaper, the Jordanian side, following the events of the Golden Gate last year and the crisis of electronic portals three years ago, stopped objecting to the expansion of the Islamic Endowments Council and agreed in an exceptional step, contrary to the Oslo agreements, to include Palestinian representatives in the council.
The Hebrew newspaper claimed that the Palestinian delegates, through their membership in the council, made it possible for Iranian and Turkish elements to establish a foothold in Al-Aqsa Mosque through various associations that received tens of millions of dollars in funding from the Turkish government based on clear orders from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The newspaper claimed that, as a result of this, the Jordanian side conveyed to Israel and the United States messages that the royal family in Jordan would be willing to reduce its opposition to everything related to the inclusion of Saudi representatives in the council, without affecting the special position of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
In return, the Jordanian side stipulated that the Saudis pump funds to Islamic societies active in occupied Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and exert political pressure to remove Turkish Muslim associations operating in the city under Palestinian cover.
“If the Jordanians allowed the Turks to work in complete freedom in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, they would have remained after a few years” on paper “as owners of a special position in the management of the holy sites,” the newspaper quoted a senior Arab diplomat as saying.
According to him, Jordan needs the money and the Saudi influence to repel Erdogan, and this meets the interests of Israel and the United States because this is in line with their efforts to obtain Saudi support and support for the Trump and Netanyahu plan, and the annexation process, especially as Saudi Arabia also brings with it the support of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The aforementioned source added that “it is still early to say that this step went into effect,” explaining that “the goal is to include Saudi delegates as observers only and non-binding so as not to damage the exclusive position of Jordan in the Holy Basin.”
These developments come in the wake of Netanyahu’s announcement that his government will begin discussions in July about “extending Israeli sovereignty” over Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, according to what was stated in the US President Donald Trump’s plan, known to the media as the “Deal of the Century”, which aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause.