A group of important Saudi officials is in the Israeli-controlled West Bank for the first time since Israel took over the area from Jordan in the war in 1967.
Shortly after it came, the tourism minister of Israel traveled to Saudi Arabia for a United Nations event.
Haim Katz, an Israeli minister, led a group of people to the Gulf country, which was the first time it has happened, according to his office.
The important journeys happened after leaders from Saudi Arabia and Israel spoke favorably about efforts to create friendly relations between the two countries.
The US has been helping arrange difficult talks between two of its friends in the same area.
If the powerful states make an agreement, it would be a big change in Middle Eastern politics and a big win for US President Joe Biden’s foreign policy.
On Tuesday morning, Nayef al-Sudairi, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Jordan, arrived in the West Bank for a two-day visit, marking the first time any Saudi envoy has officially visited the Palestinians. He entered through the Karama crossing. Israel is in charge of who is allowed to enter the country at the border. They had to give permission for his arrival to happen.
The Palestinian government says that they have achieved an important step in their relationship with Saudi Arabia, which they consider to be a significant accomplishment.
The Saudi diplomat arrived in Ramallah with a lot of excitement, where the Palestinian Authority has its main offices.
He went to the presidential compound and saw a group of soldiers waiting to welcome him. They played the anthems of Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
Then, he gave his official documents to the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, at a special event.
Mr Sudairi talked to reporters in order to give Palestinians confidence about the current happenings. He talked about the interview that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently gave to Fox News.
Prince Mohammed stated that his country and Israel are moving closer to reaching an agreement on normalizing their relationship. However, he emphasized that the Palestinian issue remains an important aspect of the discussions.
The crown prince has always been interested in the Palestinian cause. The ambassador said that he wants the entire region and the world to be peaceful and secure. He believes that this will have a positive impact on everyone globally.
Haim Katz’s visit to Riyadh was a surprise because it was not announced beforehand.
He will be in Saudi Arabia for two days to go to a special event for the UN World Tourism Organization called World Tourism Day.
Mr Katz’s office stated that he said, “Tourism helps connect different countries. ” Working together with others on tourism issues has the potential to bring people closer and lead to economic success.
I will try to form connections with others to encourage people to visit Israel and improve our relationships with other countries.
Last week, during a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that his country was very close to making an agreement with Saudi Arabia. He believed that this agreement had the potential to greatly change the situation in the Middle East.
However, officials in the United States have warned that there is still a lot of work to be done in the talks.
If they agree in the next few months, it is expected that there will be a defense agreement between Riyadh and Washington and support for Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program.
The US and Saudi Arabia both want to see important improvements made on the Palestinian issue. Many people are requesting a new peace process that will result in an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel.
The US helped organize peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but they have been stopped since 2014.
Lately, the situation has become more tense between the two groups because there has been increasing violence, especially in the West Bank.
President Abbas talked about the chance of Saudi Arabia and Israel making peace at the United Nations. He said that there can’t be a new agreement for peace in the Middle East unless Palestinians are given all their rights.
When he talked in New York, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia also asked for the two-state solution goal to be brought back to life.
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