Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Israelis were not welcome to visit the kingdom after Israel decreed that Israeli citizens could visit Saudi Arabia under certain circumstances, CNN reported on Monday.
Saudi Foreign minister Prince Faisal ibn Farhan
“Our policy is fixed. We do not have relations with the State of Israel.Israeli passport holders cannot visit the kingdom at the current time,” the US broadcaster quoted Prince Faisal bin Farhan as saying.
Israel‘s interior minister had said on Sunday; Israelis — if invited and permitted by Saudi authorities — would be allowed to travel there for religious reasons on pilgrimage or for up to nine days for business reasons such as investment or meetings.
Israelis, mostly Muslims going on pilgrimage, have for years been visiting the kingdom, which hosts the two holiest sites in Islam, but usually with special permission or using foreign passports. “When a peace agreement is reached between the Palestinians and the Israelis, I believe the issue of Israel‘s involvement in the region will be on the table,” Prince Faisal said.
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Why does the Israeli government tend to be overeager to make such pronouncements, which inevitably leads to hasty denials?
ReplyDeleteIs it because the former tends to over-inflate any positive crumb of info / speculation or a case of the latter embarrassing the former by its denials?
I have travelled from Tel Aviv to Egypt and Jordan, and had truly interesting tours. But I am not so sure about touring Saudi Arabia, Iraq etc.
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