23rd November 2020: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has paid a secret visit to Saudi Arabia where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Baaghi TV: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mossad chief Yossi Nair Cohen were also present. The resumption of relations between the two countries was considered.
According to Israeli officials, Yossi Cohen, the head of the Israeli secret service known as Mossad, was also present at the meeting. However, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has not yet commented on the matter.
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an Israeli official told Hebrew media on Monday.
Netanyahu was in the Red Sea town of Neom for five hours for the first-ever high-level meeting between an Israeli and Saudi leader.
Earlier on Monday, Pompeo said he had held a “constructive” meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince the night before, as he had completed a seven-nation tour of Israel and the Gulf states. He did not report the presence of an Israeli leader.
The reports came after Twitter users noticed that a private jet had travelled between Tel Aviv and Neom on Sunday evening, sparking speculation of a high-level meeting. The virus had decided to convene a cabinet meeting but was postponed a day later
The Israeli leader’s visit to Saudi Arabia marks a turning point in Gulf relations with Israel, which has been strengthened in recent months at the behest of the Trump administration.
Netanyahu paid a secret visit to another Gulf state, Oman, in May 2019. Israel does not have diplomatic relations.
Secret relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia are believed to have grown in recent years.
