Israel Allows Its Citizens Limited Travel to Saudi Arabia
Israelis Will Be Allowed to Visit Saudi Arabia for Hajj, Deals
(Bloomberg) -- Israel said on Sunday it will allow its citizens to travel to Saudi Arabia for Islamic pilgrimages or business purposes.
There was no immediate reaction from Saudi Arabia to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri’s decree, and Israeli visitors would still have to arrange for entry into the kingdom. Under Israel’s Prevention of Infiltration Law, Israelis have been prohibited from visiting the kingdom.
The announcement comes ahead of meetings in Washington between the U.S. administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surrounding the roll-out of President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan. Saudi officials attended a conference last year on the economic portion of the plan, and the kingdom’s support for the American proposal would be a key boost.
“It wouldn’t actually be published today unless there is a kind of American eye on that, and a Saudi-Israeli understanding,” said Uzi Rabi, director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African studies at Tel Aviv University.
Palestinian leaders have spurned talks with the Trump administration, citing what they have called a series of moves showing favor toward Israel. Those include moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and proclaiming that Israeli settlements in the West Bank aren’t necessarily illegal.
Netanyahu has bragged about forging closer ties with the Arab world, in particular the Gulf countries, as they find common cause against Iran. Israelis have also quietly ratcheted up their business ties with the Gulf in recent years.
It will still be difficult for Israelis to travel there since no airlines fly directly between the countries and the two sides don’t have official ties. Israeli Muslims in the past traveled to Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage on temporary Jordanian passports, but a 2018 report in Haaretz said Saudis would no longer allow pilgrims to travel via that loophole.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ivan Levingston in Tel Aviv at ilevingston@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Riad Hamade
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