Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir denies ties between the kingdom and Israel.
“There are no ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel,” Jubeir tells Egyptian media, according to a translation by the Ynet news website.
He says the Arab Peace Initiative would normalize relations between Israel and Arab states.
A cabinet minister said on Sunday that Israel had covert ties with “many” Arab and Muslim states, but was obliged not to name them at the other sides’ request.
A rare interview given by the head of Israel’s armed forces to a Saudi-owned news site was published on Thursday, further fueling talk of close links.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir addresses a joint press conference with his French counterpart in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 16, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / Fayez Nureldine)
This followed previous broad hints by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israeli-Arab relations, and accusations by Hezbollah that Saudi Arabia was pushing Israel to attack the Lebanese Shiite terror group.
“We have ties, some of them secret, with many Arab and Muslim states,” Energy and Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio on Sunday. “Usually the one who wants those ties to be discreet is the other side,” he said in response to a question about ties with Riyadh.
— With AFP
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