Pak Sahafat – Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said an agreement to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be “a long and cautious process,” but Israel believes it is possible.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency report from Reuters on Tuesday, Speaking to Israeli army radio, Lapid added that a possible agreement with Saudi Arabia to normalize relations, such as agreements with countries such as the UAE and Bahrain, would not come as a surprise.
Lapid said: This agreement will not be a surprise, but it will be a long and cautious process for both parties. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia have their own security interests.
He added: We are working with the Americans and some of our friends in the Gulf countries on this issue at various levels. Egypt, of course, is an important player in this regard.
It was on Saturday that the Israeli regime’s Channel 12 TV reported that “Tel Aviv’s relations with Riyadh were warming up” and noted: “A high-ranking Israeli official recently visited Riyadh, where he met with Saudi officials at the Royal Palace.”
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This Hebrew language network adds: “The main purpose of this trip was coordination and security cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia and the establishment of warm and friendly relations between the two sides.”
Saudi officials say Riyadh is ready to normalize relations with the occupying Israeli regime, provided Tel Aviv implements Riyadh’s proposed peace plan in 2002.
The “Arab Peace Plan” was launched in 2002 by Saudi Arabia to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, the granting of the right to return to their lands to Palestinian refugees, and the normalization of relations between the Arab states and the Zionist regime in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from the Golan Heights are among the most important plans.
According to the Hebrew media, the secret meeting took place at a time when relations between Tel Aviv and Riyadh have been heating up in the past few weeks on the eve of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the occupied territories and Saudi Arabia.
If Biden travels, it will be his first trip to the Occupied Territories since taking office.
Israeli Axius last Wednesday quoted three US officials as saying that two senior advisers to US President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia on a secret trip to discuss a possible deal between Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt, increased oil production and bilateral relations between Washington and Riyadh.