Saudi Arabia rejects reports of Crown Prince MBS meeting Netanyahu

Israeli media outlets are reporting that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

According to a report by BBC News, flight-tracking data showed that a business jet that the Israeli PM used in the past travelled to Neom, a city in the Tabuk Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia. 

The news has not been officially confirmed but an Israeli cabinet member said that the Israeli foreign ministry informed him of the development.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has denied the meeting and the country’s foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan said that the news is not true.

“Saudi Arabian government only had a meeting with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. No Israeli official was present during the meeting,” said FM Faisal bin Farhan.

According to the article, Israeli public broadcaster Kan, as well as other media outlets in the country, cited unnamed sources and reported that Netanyahu and the head of the Mossad intelligence service Yossi Cohen flew to Saudi Arabia.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a senior Saudi Arabian adviser has said that Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman, and Mike Pompeo talked about several issues during the meeting, including the normalisation of ties and issues related to Iran. However, no substantial agreements were signed.

US President Donald Trump recently negotiated some deals to establish diplomatic ties between Sudan, Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Even though the move was welcomed by Saudi Arabia, the country signalled that it would only consider such deals if there was a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine.