According to Israeli newspapers quoting the Israeli Education Minister Yoav Galant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Bin Salman, in the presence of Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, during a secret visit to Saudi Arabia. Yitzhak Levon, the former Israeli ambassador, confirmed that the meetings between Saudi and Israeli officials It has been taking place for a long time.
Levanon confirmed that Netanyahu’s visit to Saudi Arabia was the first for an external official to set foot in the city of Neom, saying that this visit is not surprising given the relations and contacts between the head of the Mossad Yossi Cohen and a number of Saudi officials.
The Wall Street Journal quoted two Saudi advisers saying that the meeting between Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Salman took two hours, during which normalization and Iran were discussed.
Several Israeli media outlets revealed that Netanyahu met with Mohammed bin Salman and Pompeo – who was accompanied by the head of the Mossad Yossi Cohen – during a secret visit to Saudi Arabia. The Israeli official radio confirmed the meeting of Netanyahu and Cohen with the Saudi crown prince.
This meeting was the real reason behind the postponement of the emergency meeting of the Corona Ministerial Emergency Committee, despite the excuses made for the delay.
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The Hebrew newspaper Yediot Aharonot revealed that an Israeli plane – previously used by Netanyahu on foreign missions- took off from Ben Gurion Airport (east Tel Aviv) to the airport of the Saudi coastal city of Neom, where it stayed at the airport for 5 hours, before taking off back to Israel.
According to the newspaper, the plane arrived there during a meeting between Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan with his guest, the US Secretary of State, who was on his way back to his country, adding that the former US President Donald Trump praised Saudi Arabia the most after the conclusion of peace agreements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan.
The Saudi ambassador to the United Nations, Abdullah Al-Muallimi, had expressed in statements Riyadh’s readiness to normalize relations with Tel Aviv if Israel recognized the establishment of the Palestinian state and ended the occupation. He added, “We have always said that we are ready to normalize relations with Israel as soon as it accepts the establishment of the Palestinian state, end the occupation of Palestinian lands, and grants the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people. As soon as this happens, not only the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but all Arab and Islamic countries will be ready to normalize relations with Israel and conclude peace agreements, and we believe that this is the path to follow, and we are committed to it. ”
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