Netanyahu, head of Mossad flew to Saudi Arabia in secret
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad head Yossi Cohen flew to Saudi Arabia in secret and met with officials there on Sunday, according to Israeli news reports.
ALL ISRAEL NEWS confirmed the news here. According to Israel's Channel 12, two unidentified flights took off from Israel straight for straight for Saudi Arabia, landing in Neom.
While Riyadh has blessed other Gulf state and Sudan's normalization agreements with Israel, the Kingdom itself has declined to do so until there is a Palestinian solution, officials there have said on several occasions.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also landed in Saudi Arabia yesterday as part of his seven-country tour of Europe and the Middle East. He was in Israel for three days last week. Since then he has visited Qatar and the United Arab emirates. He arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
"In Saudi Arabia where I’ll meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," he wrote on Twitter. "I look forward to discussing our efforts to counter terrorism, deter Iran’s malign influence, promote respect for human rights, and expand our two-way trade relationship."
Pompeo stressed the strong "security and economic partnership" between the United States and Saudi Arabia and said the two countries will continue "to counter malign Iranian influence in the Gulf, economic goals under the Vision 2030 plan, and human rights reform."
After the meeting, Pompeo tweeted: "Constructive visit with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in NEOM today. The United States and Saudi Arabia have come a long way since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz Al Saud first laid the foundation for our ties 75 years ago."
Netanyahu did not inform Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi of his trip, according to Israeli news.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
