Saudi Arabia minister refutes media reports about Prince MBS, Israeli PM 'secret' meeting

Saudi Arabia has dismissed media reports that claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "secretly" travelled to the Gulf Kingdom on Sunday for a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan clarified that no Israeli officials were present during the recent visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he dubbed the media reports as false claims. 

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What did reports claim?

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia, where he met Mohammed bin Salman and Mike Pompeo. The newspaper said that Israeli security agency Mossad's chief, Yossi Cohen also attended the meeting that was held in the Red Sea city of Neom. Netanyahu's office, however, declined to comment on the reports. 

Read: Israel PM Netanyahu travelled Secretly to Saudi Arabia To Meet Bin Salman, Pompeo: Reports

American newspaper Wall Street Journal also reported the story, citing three Saudi advisers as the source, and said Netanyahu met with MBS and discussed Iran and other issues, however, no substantial agreement was reached. According to the report, an Israeli journalist was the first one to spot the travel, who followed on a flight-tracking website to understand Netanyahu is visiting Saudi Arabia on a private jet.  

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If reports are considered true, it would be the first of its kind meeting between Tel Aviv and Riyadh, who do not share a formal relationship with each other as the Saudis are keen on an agreement between Israel and Palestine. However, foreign policy experts suggest the Trump administration is trying hard to broker peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia, similar to the Abraham Accords that saw normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Bahrain. 

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