Bekijk volle/desktop versie : Israëlische minister bevestigd dat relaties met Saudi Arabië steeds beter wordt.



20-11-2017, 19:07
Israeli minister publicly confirms contacts with Saudi Arabia amid growing threat from Iran



An Israeli minister has publicly admitted for the first time that Israel and Saudi Arabia have been in covert contact as both countries strive to confront Iran in the Middle East.

The Jewish state and the Arab kingdom do not have formal diplomatic relations but there have long been rumours and reports of the two sides secretly working together.

Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s energy minister, confirmed there had been contact between Israel and Saudi Arabia but said that Riyadh was eager to keep the cooperation a secret.

"We have ties that are indeed partly covert with many Muslim and Arab countries, and usually (we are) the party that is not ashamed,” Mr Steinitz said.

"It's the other side that is interested in keeping the ties quiet. With us, usually, there is no problem, but we respect the other side's wish, when ties are developing, whether it's with Saudi Arabia or with other Arab countries or other Muslim countries.”

Saudi Arabia’s leaders are deeply sensitive to claims that they are working with Israel because the Jewish state is still seen as an enemy by much of the Saudi public.

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, has said several times in the last two years that Saudi Arabia has “no relationship” with Israel and no secret back channels.

Asked about the persistent reports that Saudi Arabia and Israel were cooperating against Iran, Mr Jubeir said last week that there could only be a relationship between the two countries if there was a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"We have always said that if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved on the basis of the Arab peace initiative that Israel would have enjoyed normal relations, economic, political, diplomatic relations with all of the Arab countries, and so until that happens, we don't have relations with Israel," he said.

There was no immediate Saudi response to the Israeli minister’s comments.

Israel and Saudi Arabia both see Iran as a major threat and there have been public signs of their warming ties since Donald Trump took office.

After visiting Riyadh in February, Mr Trump told Israelis that he found the Saudi leadership to be “very positive” towards Israel.

Israel’s top military commander gave an unprecedented interview to a Saudi newspaper last week in which he offered to share intelligence against Iran.

Both Israel and Saudi Arabia speak often about the threat from Hizbollah, the Lebanese militant group which is supported by Iran.

Jerusalem says Hizbollah is amassing weapons in southern Lebanon with the aim of attacking Israel while Riyadh accuses Hizbollah of helping rebels in Yemen to launch missiles into Saudi Arabia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/20/israeli-minister-publicly-confirms-contacts-saudi-arabia-amid/