Efforts to forge Saudi ties said to be on ice as tensions with Palestinians spike
(Worthy News) – Saudi Arabia’s interest in establishing diplomatic relations with Israel has cooled in recent months amid ongoing violence in the West Bank and clashes at the flashpoint Temple Mount site, US media reported this week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prioritized including the kingdom in the 2020 Abraham Accords upon his return to office in December, but Riyadh and other Muslim nations have become reluctant to openly advance a deal due to spiking Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Israeli and Gulf officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Notably, a plan brokered by Washington to schedule direct flights from Tel Aviv to Mecca, allowing Israel’s Muslim citizens to more easily take part in the sacred Hajj pilgrimage is unlikely to be finalized, Israeli officials told the paper. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]