Without prior notice, Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, arrived in Riyadh on the evening of July 15 for a two-day visit, accompanied by fellow bureau members Mousa Abu Marzouk, Mohammad Nazal and Saleh al-Arouri. This was the first such visit by a Hamas delegation in three years, after the movement’s last to Riyadh in June 2012.

Hamas issued a brief statement July 18 regarding the visit to Saudi Arabia, revealing that the delegation held a series of informal meetings with King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Al-Monitor learned the details of Hamas’ talks with Saudi Arabia from a number of delegates and their assistants, who spoke on condition of anonymity. One delegate noted, “Meshaal and his colleagues had discussed with Saudi officials the development of the relationship between [Hamas and Saudi Arabia], which has seen in recent months a positive and gradual improvement. Hamas showed serious interest in bringing the Saudi role back into the Palestinian arena, to bring together Fatah and Hamas’ views, as Hamas also updated Saudi Arabia on the developments of the truce with Israel.”

Hamas’ visit to Riyadh had immediate effects on the ground. On July 18, an unspecified number of Hamas detainees were released from Saudi prisons. They had been arrested in December 2014 after collecting money for charities with ties to Hamas.