Israel: An Israeli official reportedly told Saudi media that relations between the two countries had changed.’
Saudi Arabia newspaper Elaf claimed on Saturday that Saudi Arabia would not sign a normalization agreement with Israel until progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite recent progress in relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem.
The report comes nearly two months after the revelations about a secret meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the city of Neem, Saudi Arabia.
According to the newspaper, which quoted a senior Israeli official on the condition of anonymity, attempts to portray the Israeli-Saudi generalization as an imminent development are motivated by personal or political views.
The outlet said that relations between the Jewish state and Riyadh had changed and Saudi relations with Jerusalem had deteriorated significantly over the past several weeks.
It is unclear how relations broke between the two regional powers, but President Donald Trump’s recent loss in the US 2020 election may have been a contributing factor.
The Trump administration successfully completed several peace agreements between Israel and Sunni Arab states, including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco alone, over the last six months.
Reports in international media also suggested that the White House was working hard to cultivate close ties between Jerusalem and Riyadh but has yet to achieve an agreement.
However, Progress was made in other important ways in which the Islamic Empire allowed Israeli passenger jets to ferry passengers to use their airspace for the UAE.