UPDATE: Saudi Arabia’a Foreign Minister said Israelis were not welcome to visit the kingdom, CNN reported on Monday. “Our policy is fixed. We do not have relations with the state of Israel and Israeli passport holders cannot visit the kingdom at the current time,” CNN quoted Prince Faisal bin Farhan as saying. [Reuters]
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A new rule from Israeli leaders will allow Israeli Muslims to go to Saudi Arabia for religious pilgrimages and permit business trips to the Kingdom, according to reports.
The announcement from Israel’s Interior Ministry “is the latest sign of quiet but warming relations” between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the AP reports.
Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal diplomatic relations, however, the two nations have found common ground in combatting Iran’s influence in the region.
The AP said there was “no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia” on the Israeli decision, but the announcement said that Israeli visitors “would require an official invitation to enter the kingdom,” according to the AP.
