Israel: We will attend conference with Saudi Arabia

Israel is set to attend a regional conference along with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt and “could even end up with a defence agreement”, the minister of communications has said.

Ayoub Kara, a member of the Knesset for Likud, announced that “Tel Aviv intends to attend a regional political economic conference along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.”

According to several leaks and Israeli newspapers, Saudi Arabia is currently spearheading the trend of normalisation with Israel in an accelerated manner. While the UAE and Bahrain are already weaving secret relations with Israel.

In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that Riyadh had informed Donald Trump’s administration before his renowned visit about its willingness to establish normal and unconditional diplomatic relations with Israel.

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After his visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump said that significant steps had been taken in the Middle East peace process and that a great surprise will be revealed soon.

Dr Anwar Eshki, head of the Middle East Centre for Strategic and Legal Studies, said that there was a change in the attitude of the Saudis toward Israel, stressing that the tweets and comments they post show that they believe Israel has never been aggressive against Saudi Arabia.

According to many analysts, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is working to prepare the Saudi people for any “possible agreement” with Israel.

The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported that the Egyptian-Saudi agreement on the transfer of the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, approved by Tel Aviv, indicate that the secret contacts and common interests between Saudi Arabia and Israel are still under way.

Recently, an Israeli diplomat announced that there will be a development in relations between Israel and some Gulf states. The British newspaper the Times reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia are discussing how to normalise trade relations and that Riyadh might open an office in Tel Aviv.