An Israeli government delegation is likely to fly to Saudi Arabia in the near future to participate in an upcoming professional conference taking place in the kingdom, Army Radio reports.
Saudi Arabia is hosting the 26th United Nations Tourism General Assembly on November 7 to 11.
Final approval has yet to be granted for the coming trip, per the report.
In September 2023, Tourism Minister Haim Katz became the first Israeli minister to lead a delegation to the kingdom during a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia as part of a United Nations World Tourism Organization event, less than two weeks before the October 7 Hamas attack.
News of the trip comes days after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich derided a possible normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia if it means the establishment of a Palestinian state, telling Riyadh to “keep riding camels.”
In a video posted to X a few hours after he made the remark, he apologized, saying, “My comment about Saudi Arabia was absolutely inappropriate, and I apologize for the insult it caused.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
