Saudi ambassador in Cairo denies attending Israeli embassy ceremony

The Saudi ambassador to Egypt, Osama Naqli, denied on Friday that he had attended a ceremony held by the Israeli Embassy in Cairo on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba.

“I thought the rumours would be much smarter than that,” said Naqli, the Kingdom’s permanent representative to the Arab League.

“It is unfortunate that a European channel adopts the rumour without proving it,” he said on Twitter.

The Saudi ambassador added that he would “start documenting rumours about him via his Twitter account.”

The New Arab website quoted a Western diplomatic source, who confirmed that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain ambassadors had attended the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Israeli occupation state which was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, a few days ago.

The source said that the Saudi ambassador was seen shaking hands with the Israeli ambassador to Cairo, David Ghufran, and spent a long time talking to him.

It is noteworthy that Arab politicians and academics severely criticised the Egyptian regime against the backdrop of hosting the Israeli celebration.