Aftermath of the “Neom Meeting”: Israeli celebrations of the Saudi “start”

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan’s refusal that the meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took place in the Saudi city of Neom left no significant resonance with the enemy entity, except that Netanyahu se He refused to confirm or deny the visit, as is. It is expected to do so. Ibn Farhan’s position was not reflected in the reactions of the politicians who addressed the meeting, the fact as a fact, nor in the estimates of the experts, nor in the media coverage that exposed its dimensions and messages. The general reading that dominated the political and media scene is that the “Neom meeting” represents a milestone in the context of the normalization movement and the crystallization of new alliances in the region on the impact of a set of variables, starting with the firmness Iran in the face of “maximum pressure” and its adherence to its constant missile, nuclear and regional, as well as the firmness of its allies. In Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, until the fall of Trump and the scenarios and repercussions that it may entail related to the regional panorama in general.

At the domestic political level, the “NEOM meeting” generated a chain of reactions and immediate repercussions, exemplified by the decision to place Saudi Arabia – 24 hours after the meeting – on the list of “green countries” of which the who return (to Israel) are exempt from quarantine. The political commentator, Barack Rapid, reported that the director general of the Ministry of Health, Hezi Levy, signed a decree with this decision, for a copy of it to be published on the lists, without a promotional statement in the media. In a parallel vein, and in the context of criticizing the leak of news of the visit, Israeli Security Minister Benny Gantz saw the leak as an “irresponsible move”, saying, in an implicit reference to Netanyahu: “No I am behaving this way, and I will not behave this way with regard to this matter and the Israelis. ” Worry, “and added,” You can imagine how many secret things I did in my life, including some with a Netanyahu delegation, “alluding to Netanyahu’s internal use of secret strategic steps at this level. Criticism of the leak also included the security services, specifically at the top of the army, whose discontent was aroused by the participation of the government’s military secretary, Brigadier General Avi Ballut, without the knowledge and permission of the Army Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi. The military commentator Or Heller revealed that “the security authorities never liked the way the matter happened”, noting that not informing the Chief of Staff is a matter that has many meanings, especially as “if something happens in Israel, or in the road to Saudi Arabia, or In Saudi Arabia, the army that has not been informed of anything, in fact, will not be able to do anything, and if it does, it will be late, since it did not know about the trip ”.

Tel Aviv will allow the Saudis to establish “charities” in East Jerusalem

These echoes led Israeli analysts to describe Netanyahu’s performance as governed by the personal troubles that haunt him, and Bin Salman to get used to the fact that secrecy will not be kept with Netanyahu, indicating that the latter does not hesitate to employ “national security” issues in the context of your interests. That prompts him to reveal it. However, the daily “Israel Al-Youm”, close to the prime minister, considered that the leaks about the NEOM meeting “are indications of a dramatic advance between the two countries towards the signing of a peace agreement or at least a peace agreement. standardization, and if any of them go into effect, it will change. ” The network of geopolitical interests in the Middle East 180 degrees. The newspaper noted that the purpose of the meeting, according to Saudi officials, is “to establish a united front against Iran and the Biden administration, which is in the process of formation.” He added that despite the “increasing public heat in relations between the two countries”, so far, Riyadh will be satisfied with the current state of relations with Tel Aviv. It is also surprising that Saudi officials have revealed the fact that there are fears from the Biden administration and arrest warrants for those accused of murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi and consequently Bin Salman requested the help of the Israelis. Also, “Israel Today” revealed that Tel Aviv would allow the Saudis to establish “charities” in East Jerusalem with the aim of curbing the influence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In the same context, the Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported that the “Neom meeting” was not the first with Netanyahu, but it was the first time that military censorship allowed the news to be published in the media, and very close to the date of the meeting. He considered that this step would not have occurred without the green light from the Prime Minister’s office, who chose not to deny or confirm the trip. “With all due respect to the Iranian issue and normalization, it is doubtful that this meeting would have taken place if the Saudis had not felt the need to enlist Israel as an additional shield against a hostile administration in Washington,” said Alex Fishman , military commentator on Yediot Aharonot. It did not discover that Netanyahu’s trip to Saudi Arabia did not lead to the destruction of the built. “
For its part, the Jerusalem Post indicated that if Netanyahu wanted to keep the matter a secret, he could have easily done so, turning off the transmitter and receiver, but he did not. Yet Israeli officials in general, and Netanyahu in particular, do not hesitate to employ the top stations and positions related to national security issues in domestic, competitive and personal contexts. Therefore, the existence of internal interests or internal political dimensions does not contradict the existence of regional reasons and contexts that imposed such a visit, and vice versa.

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