Tag Archive for Israel Saudi Arabia

Jared Kushner gets $2 Billion from Saudi Arabia to invest in Israeli start-ups

HISTORIC: In The Wall Street Journal report those familiar with the Saudi Public Investment Fund said thus far, two Israeli firms have been chosen to be invested in and that this is the first known instance of money from the fund being directed to Israel.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

A new private-equity fund run by Jared Kushner intends to invest millions of dollars raised from Saudi Arabia in Israeli start-ups, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The fund, Affinity Partners, has already raised over $3 billion, including a $2 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund. Continue Reading »

WOW! Israelis enter Saudi Arabia for Dakar Rally using their Israel Passports

Despite Saudi Arabia hosting the two Israelis for the Dakar Rally, the race’s website lists them as American & Belgian, a ‘not too subtle’ sign of Riyadh’s reluctance to publicize an official Israeli presence, but still, a historic move forward.

By Reuters

 

Among the teams dashing around the dunes in their cars at the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia this month, there were two whose presence would have been unthinkable a year ago.

The participation of Israelis in the rally’s lightweight vehicle and truck categories comes after a rapprochement between Israel and Arab states that has been in high gear, fueled by Riyadh’s quiet assent. Continue Reading »

Publicized Israeli-Saudi meeting sends Biden warning on his Iran policy

Both Jerusalem and Riyadh fear US President-elect Biden will adopt outdated, dangerous Obama policies on Iran which seriously damaged Washington’s ties with its traditional Jewish and Sunni Middle East allies.

By Reuters and ILH Staff

 

A historic meeting between Israel’s prime minister and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has sent a strong signal to allies and enemies alike that the two countries remain deeply committed to containing their common foe Iran.

Last Sunday’s covert meeting in the Saudi city of Neom, confirmed by Israeli officials but publicly denied by Riyadh, conveyed a coordinated message to US President-elect Joe Biden that Washington’s main allies in the region are closing ranks. Continue Reading »

HISTORIC: Saudi Arabia permits Israelis to enter

Baby Steps‘: With unofficial ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel expedited since President Trump’s inauguration, Israelis are now being allowed limited visits to Saudi Arabia ‘under certain conditions’.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERS

 

Interior Minister Arye Deri on Sunday authorized a select number of Israelis to be the first with permission to visit Saudi Arabia, under certain conditions that include Israeli entrepreneurs seeking investments, in a sign of warming ties.

After consulting the country’s security establishment, Deri issued a statement saying that Israelis would be allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia under two circumstances: for religious reasons on pilgrimage for the haj, or for up to nine days for business reasons such as investment or meetings. Continue Reading »

3 Palestinians Arrested After Assaulting Saudi Blogger in Jerusalem

The three Palestinians were arrested for assaulting the Saudi journalist, part of a unique 6-person media delegation from the Arab world, for spitting at, verbal abuse, and physical assault as he walked through Jerusalem to the Temple Mount.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

Three Palestinians were arrested on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the assault of the Saudi journalist Mahmoud Saud on Temple Mount on Monday, according to the Israel Police.

Continue Reading »

Netanyahu secures new Islamic ties through strength, not political weakness

With PM Netanyahu’s breakthrough diplomatic achievements with Abu Dhabi and Oman under its belt, Israel’s gov’t is now looking to normalize an open relationship with Saudi Arabia.

By Ryan Jones

 

For decades it has been assumed that Israel must bend over backwards in order to convince the Arab world to make peace with it. Israeli concessions and “goodwill gestures” were always the order of the day when it came to negotiations, be they with the Palestinians, or other Arab neighbors.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in recent years demonstrated that the above formula is not the only way forward. Continue Reading »

REPORT: The US convinces Israel to sell Iron Dome to Saudi Arabia

Saudi-based media reports Saudi Arabia turned to the U.S. to facilitate sale after previously being rejected by Israel because the two countries have no diplomatic relations and the defense system may be activated against it.

By Mordechai Sones

 

The Saudi-based Al-Khaleej Online reported today that Saudi Arabia had acquired an Iron Dome system from Israel to defend itself from missile attacks by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

According to the report, the deal was mediated by the United States, in which the Saudis undertook that the system would not endanger Israel or its allies.

Israeli security sources say this is a significant development in the relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Continue Reading »

ANALYSIS: Saudi’s attitude changing with grandiose plans for Israel

 

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince has a $500 billion plan for the construction of Neom, a new city that includes hydro-agriculture projects, which will be reportedly realized, with Israel’s help.
– With the Saudis moving closer and closer to Israel, the entrenched, uncompromising Palestinian are losing a major supporter and benefactor.

By Yochanan Visser

 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is known for his out of the box thinking and his ambitious sweeping reforms in Saudi Arabia where he has made many enemies during a purge which robbed elites, including members of the royal family, of their illegally obtained wealth last year. Continue Reading »

Air India makes historic first commercial trans-Saudi airspace flight to Israel

As Air India Flight AI139 rolled to a halt at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz said,”This is a historic moment,” recognizing Saudi Arabia’s first official pro-Israel agreement.

By AFP

 

Air India launched on Thursday the first scheduled service to Israel to be allowed to cross Saudi airspace, a sign of a behind-the-scenes improvement in ties between the Arab kingdom and the Jewish state.

Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport about 30 minutes after its scheduled arrival time of 1945 GMT.

An Air India Boeing 777-300ER  – Photo: Wikimedia Commons

“This is a historic moment,” Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz told AFP on the tarmac as the Boeing Dreamliner rolled to a halt. Continue Reading »

Saudi crown prince meets Israeli officials on normalizing Israeli-Saudi ties

A London-based Arabic daily reported Wednesday that the Saudi Crown Prince discussed normalizing Israeli-Saudi ties and President Trump’s planned “deal of the century” with Israeli officials in Egypt.
• The Saudis reportedly also invited Israel to join in the unprecedented ‘mega-city venture’ in the Gulf of Aqaba.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with senior Israeli officials during his visit to Egypt this week, the London-based Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Wednesday.

The report said the meeting focused on the normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and included Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the “deal of the century,” the Middle East peace plan being devised by U.S. Continue Reading »

HISTORIC: Saudi Arabia allows Air India direct flights to Israel over its airspace

Israel’s PM Netanyahu announced from Washington on Monday that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has granted Air India rights to overfly it en route to Israel, ending its decades long opposition.

By i24NEWS

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Monday that Saudi Arabia has given Air India permission to use its airspace on flights to Tel Aviv, confirming weeks of speculation and signaling a small but unprecedented step in thawing relations between Israel and some Arab states.

El Al destination Map – IridianD

Netanyahu revealed the news in a briefing with Israeli reporters in Washington DC shortly after his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Continue Reading »

EL AL turns to IATA to fly through Saudi airspace

Since Saudi Arabia doesn’t officially recognize Israel, granting El Al access to its air space would dramatically  indicate a diplomatic shift in its position.

By TOVA COHEN/REUTERS, ARI RABINOVITCH/REUTERS

 

TEL AVIV – Israel’s flag carrier El Al has asked an airline industry lobby group to help it access Saudi Arabian airspace, so it can compete with Air India’s planned route between India and Israel.

Air India One, a Boeing 747-437, used by President of India – Photo- Wikimedia Commons: José Luis Celada Euba

The request came in a letter on Wednesday from El Al’s chief executive to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in which he said he has also approached Israel’s prime minister. Continue Reading »

WATCH: Saudi slams Palestinians for exploiting religion, to milk the world for cash

In the viral video, a Saudi blogger slams the Palestinian Authority saying, “You’re a bunch of dogs, rabid dogs, who only bark at those that feed them. You’ve turned your [political] issues into a source of income. You’ve turned our shared religion [Islam] into a way of making money.”

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still nominally allied with the Palestinian Authority, a long-time client of the oil-rich custodian of Islam’s holiest cities, recent reports suggest ties between the two have been cooling in recent years.

Covert cooperation with Israel against the common foe of Iran, along with the support of some Palestinian Arab factions of the Tehran regime, have encouraged the Saudi leadership to push the PA to accept a negotiated peace with Israel, even on terms less favorable than previous offers. Continue Reading »

Israel’s opposition calls for Saudis to ‘assist’ Jordan as overseer of Al Aksa

The previous opposition leader in Israel’s Knesset, MK Isaac Herzog tells a Saudi internet publication that he believes, “the Saudis have a great responsibility and role for the holy places of Islam,” and it should include the Temple Mount.

By BEN LYNFIELD

 

Riyadh should be given a “central role” in future arrangements for al-Aksa Mosque, opposition leader Isaac Herzog told a Saudi publication, according to a transcript released by his office on Tuesday.

“We will arrive at talks on Jerusalem and the holy places like al-Aksa,” Herzog told the Saudi-owned, London-based Elaph website, referring to Islam’s third holiest shrine. “I think the Saudis have a great responsibility and role for the holy places of Islam.” Continue Reading »

Saudi Columnist Admits Trump’s Recognition of Israel’s Claims to Jerusalem Was Just

Leading Saudi intellectual calls on Arab world to abandon its political propaganda:
“Arab mentality must free itself from the heritage of Gamal Abdel Nasser and political Islam of both the Sunni and Shia sects, which has instilled for purely political interests the culture of hating Jews and denying their historic right in the region.”

By Israel Today Staff

 

While much of the Arab world predictably reacted with outrage to US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a number of leading Arab intellectuals took a very different position.

Among them was Abdulhameed Hakeem, head of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Continue Reading »