Alwaght- A delegation of some 20 American Jewish leaders visited Saudi Arabia recently for meeting senior officials in the Arab kingdom, including at least six government ministers and senior representatives of the Saudi royal house, reported Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
The visit came at the invitation of the Saudi government, the newspaper said, adding that it was coordinated with Biden administration, following a visit to the UAE of the same delegation that was meant to boost ties with Abu Dhabi.
"The Saudis are preparing their citizens for normalization with Israel," claimed Jewish-American businessman Phil Rosen, a member of the delegation.
"I would not be surprised if we see normalization between Saudi Arabi and Israel in the coming months or year," he added.
Asked if the Saudis set preconditions for any deal with the Israelis, Rosen said that like the Emiratis, the Saudi are waiting for appropriate time, rather than waiting for the Palestinians to make “peace” with Tel Aviv.
Saudi Arabia did not comment on the normalization between a number of the Arab countries and the Israeli regime. Many analysts attributed its silence and refusal to normalize last year to the outrage the government may face at home and the potential damage to its prestige across the Arab world.
The voices inside the kingdom are not united on normalization. While the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pushing for a thaw with Tel Aviv, his father King Salman bin Abdelaziz seems to be clinging to the Arab initiative that calls for two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
However, the crown prince seems to be going his way. Last week first direct Israeli flight landed in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi airplane also landed in Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv in sign of growing Saudi openness to normalization.
