Tag Archive for Israel Saudi Arabia

Saudi Delegation Visit Jerusalem to Meet IDF, Foreign Ministry Officials

 

Retired Saudi general Anwar Eshki visits Israel with businessmen & academics to promote the 2002 ‘Arab Peace Initiative’, including a meeting with the IDF’s head of the unit that coordinates Israeli activities in the West Bank & Gaza.

By AFP

 

The head of a rare Saudi delegation to Israel and the West Bank met a senior Israeli government official during his trip, the Foreign Ministry told AFP on Sunday.

Gold in a previous meeting with Eshki

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the meeting between retired Saudi general Anwar Eshki and ministry Director General Dore Gold took place at the prestigious King David hotel in west Jerusalem but did not give further details. Continue Reading »

Saudi official says Kingdom will build embassy in Israel when PM accepts Arab Peace Plan

 

Further warming between the Islamic & Jewish states was made evident from an interview retired Saudi major-general gave to Al Jazeera, where Anwar Eshki said the Kingdom will open an embassy in Israel when PM Netanyahu accepts the Arab Peace Initiative.

By i24news

 

Saudi Arabia will open an embassy in Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts the Arab Peace Initiative, the Jerusalem Post reports, citing an interview that retired Saudi major general gave to Al Jazeera.

Responding to the question of how long he thought it would be before a Saudi embassy would be opened in Tel Aviv, Anwar Eshki said: “You can ask Mr. Continue Reading »

Diplomacy: Israel’s intra-Arab 3-way that’s good for Jerusalem

 

Egypt transferred 2 small islands to Saudi Arabia earlier this week with Israel’s blessing, since Jerusalem is happy to see Cairo & Riyadh strengthen ties, which serves Israel’s interest: a stable Egypt.

By HERB KEINON

 

“The Aqaba Gulf constitutes our Egyptian territorial waters. Under no circumstance will we allow the Israeli flag to pass through the Aqaba Gulf. The Jews threatened war. We tell them: Ahlan Wa-sahlan [You are welcome], we are ready for war. Our armed forces and all our people are ready for war, but under no circumstance will we abandon any of our rights. This water is ours.” Continue Reading »

Report: Saudi Arabia buying Israeli drones via South Africa

 

By MAAYAN GROISMAN

 

A Saudi political analyst who is well known for leaking exclusive information about the royal family of Saudi Arabia on Twitter has recently reported that the kingdom buys drones from Israel, in cooperation with South Africa.

ELBIT ANNOUNCED yesterday the arrival of an upgraded drone called the Skylark 3 that delivers over-the-next-hill visual intelligence. It’s from the same family of UAVs that currently helps IDF units. – Photo: Courtesy

In a series of remarks he wrote on his Twitter page Wednesday, the Saudi analyst suggested that the official report released by the Saudi Defense Ministry according to which the kingdom would build a drone factory in collaboration with South Africa is false.

Continue Reading »

Saudi paper reports Nasrallah’s threats countered by IDF promise to “put Lebanon back 300 years” if attacked

 

By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUA

 

A senior IDF officer told a Saudi newspaper on Monday that “the IDF could put Lebanon back 300 years and in parallel conquer the Gaza Strip and destroy all of its infrastructure.” The officer told journalist Majdi Halbi of the Elaph news site that despite the IDF capability, the army is subject to the political echelon that in the officer’s estimation will not order such action.

An IDF artillery gun fires a shell into Lebanon, after a roadside bomb exploded next to an IDF military border patrol near the Sheba Farms area near Kiryat Shmona, Israel, January 4, 2016.

Continue Reading »

REPORT: Israeli Minister talks of cooperation with Arab States during Saudi interview

 

In rare interview with Saudi news site, Elaph, Israel’s Minister of Jerusalem Affairs talks about cooperation with Arab States.

By i24news

 

Likud Minister Ze’ev Elkin was interviewed by the Saudi-owned news site Elaph on diplomatic relations between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, and Iran’s role in the region, the Israeli news site Ynet reported Friday.

Situation shows ground is fertile for cooperation, however dialogue is still far away.
Ze’ev Elkin

In the rare interview, Elkin who serves as Minister of Immigrant Absorption and Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, told Elaph that the ground work has been laid for cooperation but that he still thinks that dialogue is a far way off, said Ynet. Continue Reading »

Israel Discusses Peace with the Palestinians with Gulf States…and Hamas

Israeli strategists sense that a weakened Hamas might be ripe for a long-term hudna or ‘truce’ with Israel, instead of trying to strengthen the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority that rejects every attempt at peace.

By LESLIE SUSSER

 

A YEAR after last summer’s fighting and Gaza is still in ruins. Very little has been done to rebuild. Over 100,000 people are still homeless or living in decrepit bombed-out buildings. The economy has shrunk dramatically. At 43 percent, unemployment is the highest in the world.

Continue Reading »

Saudi Prince calls on Arabs “to desist their absurd hostility toward Jewish people”

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sends media tycoon to open direct dialogue with Israel for building amicable ties.

By AWD news

 

The Saudi multi-millionaire media tycoon, prince Talal Bin Waleed, has urged all Arab nations to give up their acrimonious stance toward the Jewish nation and instead continue to strive for a more peaceful , prosperous and homogenous Middle-East.

Saudi Prince Talal

The controversial Saudi prince Talal has openly declared his intention to embark a seven-day pilgrimage to Holy Land and pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque — the third holiest site in Islam located in the Old City of Jerusalem– , reported Okaz , the Arabic Saudi Arabian daily on Thursday. Continue Reading »

Wikileaks report Saudi students’ “diplomatic briefing” at Israeli Embassy worries Riyadh

There’s concern in Riyadh over Saudi students who visited the Israeli Embassy in Washington with int’l leadership program, and “heard a diplomatic briefing, asked questions & even had their picture taken.”

 

Saudi Arabia is extremely concerned over the dozens of Saudi students who reportedly visited the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Wikileaks documents published this weekend claim.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. [file photo] – Photo: AFP

In one leaked source dated August 14, 2008 and marked “urgent, classified,” the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh notified the Saudi embassy in Washington that several dozen students from Gulf states were visiting Israeli embassies as part of an international leadership program. Continue Reading »

Survey: 82% of Saudis don’t see Israel as greatest threat

Israel is no longer considered as a major threat to Saudi Arabia & the majority of Saudis surveyed are willing to live in peace with Israel under the Saudi-Arab Peace Initiative.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

 

Most Saudis support the Arab Peace Initiative with Israel and say their country must obtain nuclear weapons if Iran does, a survey conducted by the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya shows.

Man takes a selfie in Meeca, Saudi Arabia. – Photo: REUTERS

Only 18 percent of Saudis see Israel as the greatest threat to their country. Iran was deemed the biggest nemesis (53%) followed by Islamic State (22%) and then Israel. Continue Reading »

REPORT: Israel & Saudi Arabia team up in secret diplomacy to thwart Iran

Admitting their secret diplomacy for first time, Bloomberg reports Israel & Saudi Arabia have discussed curtailing Iranian influence in the Middle East.

By DANIEL J. ROTH

 

Israel and Saudi Arabia have held five secret meetings since the beginning of 2014 to discuss the common threat Iran posses to the region, it was revealed for the first time Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, according to Bloomberg.

 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Dr. Dore Gold - Photo: Israel's Gov't Press Office

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Dr. Dore Gold – Photo: Israel’s Gov’t Press Office

Although the two are considered to be historic enemies, with Saudi Arabia refusing to recognize the Jewish State’s right to exist, they never-the-less have engaged in a campaign of clandestine diplomacy in an effort to thwart the Islamic Republic’s growing influence in the Middle East. Continue Reading »

Saudis seek to revive their peace plan with Netanyahu’s new right-wing gov’t

Former Jordanian military general calls on PM Netanyahu to accept Saudi plan, saying 40 Muslim states “will establish diplomatic relations with Israel, including commercial cooperation and cultural ties.”

By Smadar Perry

 

The Saudi peace initiative first saw light some 13 years ago, and apparently there are still many key figures in the Arab world who would like to see it revived.

Saudi King Salman at an Arab League Conference this year – Photo: EPA

“Now that Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has formed his new government, I call on him to say yes to the Saudi peace initiative. It’s alive and well and didn’t disappear with the regime change in Saudi Arabia,” says Dr. Continue Reading »

Wall Street Journal: Saudis tell Europeans of willingness to help Israel attack Iran

Israel’s TV2 news report said Saudi ministers have passed this message in private talks to European sources.

 

In private talks with European sources, the Saudis have expressed their willingness to cooperate with Israel on Iran, including use of Saudi air space by the IDF for a possible air strike, according to a report by Channel 2.

MEMBERS OF the palace staff stand in waiting during Saudi Arabia’s King Salman’s meeting with US President Barack Obama at Erga Palace in Riyadh in January. – Photo: REUTERS

Cooperation with Saudi Arabia would not come free, however. According to the report, the Saudi officials said they would need to see progress between Israelis and Palestinians before having enough legitimacy to allow Israel to use their air space. Continue Reading »

Mysterious death in Saudi Arabia of US employee of Israeli defense firm prompts investigation

 

Investigation by the US State Department started when Saudi authorities claimed Chris Cramer committed suicide and his family insisted that Chris was murdered.

Continue Reading »

Analysis: Secret Israel-Saudi ties likely to continue after King Abdullah’s death

 

Expert on Saudi foreign policy: “The changes that the Mid-East has experienced in recent years have created a set of joint interests between the 2 countries.”

By ARIEL ZILBER

 

The tacit security and intelligence cooperation that has come to characterize Israel’s clandestine relationship with Saudi Arabia is likely to remain intact even as the House of Saud undergoes a transition of power following Thursday’s passing of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud.

POTUS Obama bows to Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (2nd R) as French President Nicolas Sarkozy (3rd R) and South Korean President Lee Myung -Bak (L) look on before a family picture with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (not pictured) at Buckingham Palace, in London – AFPGetty Images

“The changes that the Middle East has experienced in recent years have created a set of joint interests between the two countries,” said Dr. Continue Reading »