Israeli Ex-Minister: We Will Go To Riyadh And Reaching An Agreement Between Us Is Close

MEP: During the visit of the retired Saudi general, Anwar Eshki, with a Saudi delegation to the occupied Palestine, Issawi Freij, an MP in the so-called Zionist LEFT party (Meretz), said in an interview in Hebrew with the official Israeli radio that the preparations for delegation to return visit to Saudi Arabia are ongoing and in full swing, pointing out that the delegation will include MPs from the Knesset, the Israeli “left” and other officials.

According to the newspaper ” Rai al-youm,” Freij said that the Saudi delegation, which met Israeli opposition MPs two weeks ago expressed the wish to strengthen relations with the Israeli entity, as he put it.

It seems that Freij’s statement did not come out of a vacuum. In the same context, the Israeli newspaper “Jerusalem Post”, published a statement by former Israeli minister of social affairs Mikhail Lior, who also served as deputy foreign minister, that this will enable the Israelis to travel to Saudi Arabia soon, God willing, as he put it.

According to the newspaper Lior used the phrase “God willing” in Arabic for being a synonym for the Hebrew phrase that means as in Arab, “If God permits.”

Media reports published earlier indicated that former Israeli minister met with the Saudi delegation headed by the Saudi retired Gen. Anwar Eshki recently, pointing out that reaching an agreement between “Israel” and Saudi Arabia is forthcoming, as he put it. Israeli newspaper added that the former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Lior said in a statement for British media: the day will come when the Israelis can travel to Saudi Arabia, and it will be soon adding in Arabic “God willing”.

These statements by an Israeli official raise many questions about the reality of establishing secret relations and on public between officials from the Jewish state and Saudi Arabia. It is noteworthy that the Saudi General Eshki, two weeks ago in a controversial visit to Tel Aviv, met with Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Dore Gold and Gen. Yoav Mordechai, coordinator of the Israeli government’s actions  in the occupied Palestinian territories .

Lior, a former Knesset member for the “One Israel” party, which is now called the “Zionist camp” and a former minister for Diaspora Affairs, said that his meeting with the Saudis focused on religious issues related to diplomacy between the two countries, as he put it.

On the Palestinian issue, he said, the meeting come up with very soft denouncements of the practices of Hamas movement. They told us it was not the right time for such a meeting and they did not really condemn the movement, as he put it. The Israeli official also said that the meeting focused on finding a way to pave a suitable platform for direct agreements between Saudi Arabia and “Israel”, and to circumvent the Palestinian cause, as he said. Lior pointed out that the Saudi delegation headed by Anwar Eshki, during his visit last month to Tel Aviv, met President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and senior Palestinian officials in Ramallah.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli Foreign Ministry refused to comment on Eshki meeting with the director general of the Foreign Ministry, Dore and Gen. Mordechai. While the Saudi government does not see the trip was official, but a private initiative made by Eshki.

It should be noted that Eshki will be unable to access the occupied Palestine without the approval of the Saudi authorities.

According to the Israeli site, “Al-Masdar”, there are those claiming that it was the initiative of Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Minister of Saudi security, in a bid to get closer to the Israeli entity to convince America to support him to be the crown prince, instead of Mohammed bin Nayef. It was only about a month ago, Bin Salman himself traveled to America.

Eshki a few months ago in an interview with an Arab satellite television, said that if Netanyahu agreed to the Arab peace initiative and gave the Palestinians their rights, Saudi Arabia will open  an embassy in Tel Aviv “We do not like Israel to become isolated in the region”, as he put it.