In an interview with a Saudi news outlet, Israel’s Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz has invited Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Israel and asked Shah Salman of Saudi Arabia to officially invite Netanyahu to Riyadh.
The Intelligence Minister of Israel has described Saudi Arabia as the “leader of the Arab world” and recommended that peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel happen under the kingdom’s auspices.
This shows that both the countries have cordial relations behind the curtain and Saudi Arabia is supporting US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Though Saudi Arabia does not officially maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, analysts believe that there are covert ties between the two countries which are based on the “common threat” of Iran.
It must be recalled that the Israeli military chief, Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot, had told an Arabic language online newspaper in November that Israel was ready to share “intelligence information” with Saudi Arabia, saying their countries had a common interest in standing up to Iran.