The foreign ministry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has denied the reports that a meeting between the Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and the Israeli officials took place on Sunday. Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud took to Twitter and said that the only officials present at the meeting were Americans and Saudis.
Earlier, the Israeli media outlets reported that the Saudi Crown Prince held secret meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday. The news from Israel’s media came weeks after the UAE, Sudan, and Bahrain, reached an agreement to normalize their diplomatic relations with Israel’s state.
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The deals between the Arab nations were brokered by the incumbent US administration, which is set to leave the White House in months. In light of the recent developments in the Middle East, there have been widespread speculations that the US government may push other Arabian countries to establish ties with Israel before Donald Trump leaves the presidential office.
Kan, an Israeli news outlet, reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Tel-Aviv last week, also participated in the talks on Sunday. Pompeo has confirmed that as part of his Middle East tour, he was in Neom on the Red Sea and that he held talks with the Saudi Crown Prince MBS.
Saudi’s foreign minister publicly stated that it is committed to a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict. Meanwhile, Palestinians have described the recent normalization deals as a stab in their back, urging the Arab nations to stay firm until the Israeli state ends its occupation.
Netanyahu said earlier in August that the country was holding talks with several Muslim nations and leaders who were interested in normalizing ties with Israel/ however, he did not name any country. Interestingly, amid the speculations that Oman might also be interested in establishing ties with Israel, the Netanyahu administration is focusing more on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, primarily because of its wealth and influence in the region.
Meanwhile, as Biden’s path to the presidential office is now clear, many Sunni Arab nations, and Israel worry that the incoming US administration may seek to revive the historic Iran nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers brokered by the Obama administration, but was later scrapped by the incumbent president.
