Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held secret talks in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli media reported on Monday. The trip would be the first of its kind by an Israeli premier to the Gulf State.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who visited Israel (including Judea and Samaria) last week, also reportedly attended the meeting. Israel’s public broadcaster Kann’s diplomatic correspondent Barak Ravid reported. Mossad chief Yossi Cohen accompanied Netanyahu as well.
The journalist cited anonymous Israeli officials quoting them as saying that Netanyahu as well as the head of the Mossad spy agency, Yossi Cohen “flew yesterday to Saudi Arabia, and met Pompeo and MBS (Prince Mohammed bin Salman) in the city of Neom,”
Oddly, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi were not informed of the meeting. This could possibly be because Gantz has been accused of being compromised by Iran who reportedly hacked into his phone and discovered incriminating material.
Several other Israeli media outlets reported similar information on Monday as well.
Netanyahu’s office did not confirm nor deny the reports.
The meeting comes following Israel agreeing to forge historic accords to normalize ties with two Saudi Arabian allies in the Gulf – Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.