International confusion over the possible meeting of Saudi Arabia and Israel

The Abraham Agreements appear to have set a precedent, and the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel has brought about a major shift in the geopolitics of the Gulf.

Various Israeli media this morning have reported that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamín Netanyahu, travelled to Saudi Arabia this Sunday and met in secret with the crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman. This information has been completely denied by the Saudi government, which denies that any kind of meeting took place.

According to the Israeli media, Netanyahu travelled accompanied by Yosi Cohen, the head of the foreign intelligence service (Mossad), and the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is reported to have taken part in the meeting, according to the state radio station Khan and the digital media Ynet and Times of Israel.

Netanyahu's office has declined to comment on the trip, but Kan quotes "senior officials" of the executive, who confirmed the visit after information was disseminated on social networks about a "strange flight" of a private plane from Tel Aviv airport to the city of Neom, in northwest Saudi Arabia and near the Red Sea.

Following the news, the Israeli education minister, Yoav Gallant, told the army radio station: "The simple fact that the meeting took place, and that it was published, even if only in an unofficial way, is a matter of great importance", in words that confirmed it.

The Saudi Arabian government today denied the veracity of the information published by the Israeli media about an alleged meeting between the Saudi Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanhayu, the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman, and the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.

Furthermore, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan, stated on his Twitter account that "no such meeting took place", adding that only "American and Saudi representatives" were present at yesterday's meeting.
 

The Saudi government had previously reported on the meeting this Sunday between Bin Salman and Pompeo, in the city of Neom, on the shores of the Red Sea, as part of a tour that the secretary of state made of the Middle East. Pompeo confirmed this morning that both he and Bin Salman were in Neom.

"Constructive visit with Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman in Neom today," he said on Twitter this morning, without mentioning the presence in the city of Netanyahu as well.

Pompeo ended a tour of seven countries in Neom, including Israel and several Gulf countries (Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia), in what is believed to be his farewell trip to the region, before the US Presidency changes hands and is taken over by Democrat Joe Biden.

The outgoing president, Donald Trump, has given impetus to the so-called Abraham Agreements, whereby three Arab countries have normalised relations with Israel in recent times, breaking the Arab consensus that had existed up to now, which implied that Israel would not be recognised and official relations would not be established until there was a peace agreement and a Palestinian state.

When the Emirates' decision to establish relations with Israel was announced, a diplomatic earthquake, Riyadh avoided speaking out against it, despite the fact that the Palestinians denounced the passage as a "betrayal". Furthermore, Saudi Arabia allowed the use of its air space for flights between the Emirates and Israel, which until then had been forbidden to use it. Baréin quickly followed Abu Dhabi and Sudan announced one month later that it would also do so.

Recently the Saudi foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan, stated that his country has long supported normalisation with Israel, but that something very important must happen first: "a permanent and comprehensive peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, that there be a Palestinian state with dignity within the 1967 borders".

A declaration in line with the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, promoted by the Arab League, which offers Israel the normalisation of relations when it reaches a peace agreement with the Palestinians. A consensus now broken by the Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, Netanyahu's trip to Neom raises the question of whether Riyadh will continue to support him.