After thaw with Iran, Saudi Arabia sends negative signals to Israel
From Israel’s point of view, the China-brokered Iran-Saudi Arabia agreement could dramatically hamper its efforts to normalize with Riyadh.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was forced to cancel his trip to Saudi Arabia scheduled for Sunday, in what is considered by Israeli officials as a negative diplomatic signal by Riyadh.
Cohen decided not to travel to Saudi Arabia after Riyadh repeatedly ignored requests to discuss security measures for the visit.
No Israeli minister has ever made a public visit to the kingdom. Still, Cohen was hoping to participate in the United Nations World Tourism Organization "Best Tourism Villages" ceremony, as the Israeli Circassian Kfar Kama village has been selected as one of the 32 winners for the UN competition.
A report by Israeli Walla news outlet said that Riyadh did not reject outright the request by the UN event organizers for Cohen’s arrival. Still, when Israeli authorities tried to discuss security arrangement for the visit, it became clear that the Saudis were not open for such talks, effectively pushing Cohen to halt his arrival plans. Representatives of the Kafr Kama village did not receive visas for Saudi Arabia, thus could not travel either.
