Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to radio reports.
If confirmed, it would be the first publicly acknowledged trip by an Israeli leader to ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, which has traditionally championed the Palestinian cause and shunned all official contacts with Israel.
As US President Donald Trump’s term winds down, Pompeo has been trying to coax the Gulf powerhouse to follow its neighbours, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in establishing formal relations with Israel.
Netanyahu’s office and the US embassy in Jerusalem had no immediate comment on the reports aired on Israel’s Kan public radio and Army Radio on Monday.
Saudi state media made no mention of any visit by Netanyahu, and the Saudi government’s media office did not immediately respond to queries.
The rapprochement between Israel and the Gulf states is built largely on shared concerns about Iran – and, potentially, about whether US President-elect Joe Biden will review Washington’s regional policies.
Netanyahu was joined on his Saudi trip by Mossad director Joseph (Yossi) Cohen, who has spearheaded discreet diplomatic outreach to Gulf Arab states, said the Israeli media reports, quoting unidentified Israeli officials.
Read the article by Dan Williams in The Sydney Morning Herald.