In a new normalization precedent, the official Channel One of the Israeli TV revealed that a delegation comprising many leaders of American Jewish organizations visited the capital Riyadh recently and visited the royal palace.
The Hebrew Channel said that the visit of 55 leaders of the Jewish community, members of the Conference of American Jewish Organizations, remained secret.
The channel quoted sources as saying that the delegation discussed, during its visit to Riyadh, many regional issues, headed by Iran and that the officials
The Saudis were interested in discussing ways to bridge the chasm with Israel, but there was no discussion of an Israeli-Saudi summit meeting at the leaders’ level.
A few days ago, the Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted the American rabbi, Mark Schneier, that the United States is working to organize a summit in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leaders of many Arab and Gulf countries.
The newspaper reported that Arab diplomats said that the summit includes the leaders of Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Sudan.
She added that the goal of holding the summit after the Israeli elections scheduled for next month is to create a balance for the Saudi-led forces by supporting the American peace plan.
The newspaper also reported that Schneier recently visited the Kingdom as a guest of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on a visit during which he met Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Minister of State Adel Al-Jubeir.
At the end of last month, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced that he had signed a decree allowing Jews and all those who hold Israeli passports to travel to Saudi Arabia for commercial and religious purposes.
A shield decree allows leaving for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in public for the first time since the establishment of Israel, bearing in mind that the Israeli authorities were preventing travel to Saudi Arabia with the Israeli passport, as Saudi Arabia was classified as an “enemy country”.
And two days ago, the “Israel in Arabic” account on Twitter of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a video that promotes tourism in the Kingdom to promote normalization with the Saudi regime.
The publication of the video came after the Israeli government decided for the first time at the end of last month to officially allow its citizens to travel to the Kingdom for pilgrimage or trade, according to the Israeli Minister of the Interior “Arieh Deri” in a statement.
This decree paves the way for pushing the pace of normalization taking place between Israel and the Saudi regime, and for the relations between the two countries to move out of the open secret.
Relations between the two sides have continued for decades in secret, according to the Israeli media, which indicated that they were mainly centered on security cooperation but have been strengthened since Muhammad bin Salman assumed the mandate of the Covenant.
According to the official Israeli radio, Kan, the recent years have witnessed an unprecedented consolidation of relations between Israel and the Gulf states, especially the Kingdom, and attributed this rapprochement to what it called the growing threats from Iran and the deterioration of the Palestinian issue.