Military censorship allowed news of Netanyahu and Cohen’s visit to Saudi Arabia to spread

Tel Aviv has not eliminated the confusion and conflict that surrounded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged visit to Riyadh, and his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu and the head of the Shin Bet security agency made an unprecedented visit to Saudi Arabia and met with the crown prince, in the Neom area in the northwest of the kingdom, the closest point to Israel. He added that the meeting was held in the presence of the Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo.

An Israeli government source confirmed the visit. Israeli public radio also quoted Israeli officials, whose identities were not disclosed, as saying that Netanyahu and Yossi Cohen “went to Saudi Arabia and met Pompeo and Bin Salman in the city of Neom.” The correspondent for the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that military censorship allowed news of Netanyahu and Cohen’s visit to Saudi Arabia to be broadcast. Adding to the confusion was Netanyahu’s maneuver, as he declined to comment on reports that he had met Bin Salman. Israeli Channel 13 quoted Netanyahu as saying Monday: “I have never touched on these issues, and I do not intend to start now.”

In a related context, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz criticized the news leak about Netanyahu’s meeting with bin Salman. The same channel quoted Gantz as saying: “The leak of news of Netanyahu’s secret trip to Saudi Arabia is an irresponsible act.” The Wall Street Journal published details of the talks and quoted two Saudi officials as saying the two-man meeting on Sunday included the issues of Iran and normalization of relations. A senior Saudi government adviser familiar with the talks told the newspaper that the meeting, which lasted about two hours, during which no substantive agreements were reached. According to the newspaper, the Saudi Ministry of Information and Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a Netanyahu spokesman declined to confirm the truth of the meeting.

After international media worried about the details of the visit, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Monday denied Israeli media reports about the meeting. “I followed press reports about an alleged meeting between His Highness the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit of (US Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo. No such meeting took place. The only officials present were Americans and Saudis.” the minister wrote in a tweet in English. A second tweet was later posted in Arabic that read: “I noticed some media reported that His Highness the Crown Prince met with Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister, during the recent visit of the United States Secretary of State to the Kingdom. The news is completely false and the supposed meeting did not take place. ” The official Saudi media published images and a video recording of the meeting between the crown prince and Pompeo only.

But Yitzhak Levanon, a former Israeli ambassador and Middle East expert, said that meetings between Saudi and Israeli officials take place for a long time.