Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with then-national security advisor Yosef “Yossi” Cohen, now director of the foreign intelligence agency Mossad.
TEL AVIV: In an attempt to pressure the incoming Biden Administration, Israel’s prime minister visited Saudi Arabia, a previously unthinkable act by an Israeli leader. During the five-hour visit Bibi Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the Iran threat and how to convince Washington to keep the pressure on Teheran.
Yossi Cohen head of the Israeli Mossad accompanied Netanyahu in his secret visit, which was reported by Israel’s Army Radio. The visit came as a surprise to Israel’s own defense minister and alternative prime minister, Benny Gantz. Bibi’s meeting with the Saudi crown prince occurred in the presence of U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
As if to emphasize the increasingly tense situation with Iran, Houthi rebels today claimed responsibility for a cruise missile attack against a Saudi oil facility in the port city of Jeddah.
The Houthis said Iran will soon supply them with a cruise missile capable of hitting the Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea.
An Israeli private business jet owned by an Israeli millionaire took off at 19:50 local time on Nov. 22 from Ben Gurion Airport and landed in Saudi Arabia at 20:30. Saudi Arabia officially denied the visit took place.
Israeli sources told BD that while Israeli officials have visited Saudi Arabia in the past, these visits were secret and the Israeli censors did not allow the Israeli press to confirm them. This time the situation is totally different.
Sources here said the official confirmation about the visit is a message from both countries.
The main message is directed to Iran and is – Saudi Arabia and Israel will cooperate if necessary in the face of Iranian aggression.
The second message is aimed at the White House and President-elect Joe Biden. The situation in the Middle East is changing and the fact that Iran is a major threat will accelerate some process that started by the signing of the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE and Sudan.
Establishment of official relations with Israel would help Saudi Arabia realize a number of strategic objectives, according to the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) here. First, in recent years, the Saudi elite has come to doubt the willingness of the United States to stand by it when its essential interests are at stake. The kingdom has a clear interest in having Washington deeply involved in the Middle East and being more committed and sensitive to Saudi interests, particularly where Iran is concerned. “Riyadh regards an agreement with Israel as a means of strengthening its ties with the United States. It is possible that Saudi Arabia is holding back until after the US elections, so that it will have something to offer Joe Biden…. Strengthening relations with the US is a supreme Saudi interest, and success in doing so could affect the internal status of MBS.”
Saudi Arabia believes that an agreement with Israel is likely to improve its international image and status, especially in the US Congress, which has been highly skeptical of Saudi intentions for many years. Some of the other possible advantages for Saudi Arabia of an agreement with Israel could be obtained without public announcement of bilateral ties. Meanwhile, the pace of improving ties between Israel and some Gulf states has accelerated, the INSS researchers say.
Public connections, however, enable easier access to Israeli technology, for example, and may also strengthen Saudi Arabia’s status vis-à-vis the Islamic holy sites in Israel.” Increased Saudi anxiety about Iran is likely to be a factor motivating the kingdom to move toward rapprochement with Israel, not necessarily via the signing of a formal agreement, just as it can also be a deterrent against closer relations.”
In recent days, there have been growing concerns in the Saudi royal house about Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States and the new administration’s expected policy towards Saudi Arabia and the Middle East’s problems, especially the Iranian danger.
There are already some signs of this on the ground: Saudi Arabia was the last of the Gulf States to congratulate Joe Biden and his deputy, Kamela Harris, on their victory in the presidential election.
Meanwhile, relations with other Gulf states continued to broaden and deepen as Israel’s Defense Ministry approved participation of some major Israeli defense companies in the IDEX defense exhibition planned for Feb 2021 in the Abu Dhabi national exhibition center.
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