Possibly under duress, the Saudi ex-general is distancing himself from any notion of a possible warming of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.  

The retired Saudi general who visited Jerusalem two weeks ago and met with senior Israeli officials and Members of Knesset has rejected any attempt to link his visit to a normalizing of relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem.

In a Tuesday interview with Al-Shams Radio, which broadcasts from Israel, Anwar Eshki said he was on a visit to Israel together with other researchers – members of the Middle East institute, a think tank that he heads. He said he was in the country on the invitation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and senior Palestinian Fatah official Jibril Rajoub.

The meetings with the Israeli officials did not take place in a government office, but rather at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Eshki stressed.

“My visit was not coordinated with the Saudi royal house and I did not receive a green light from Saudi Arabia,” he said in the interview. “I came on my own behalf and that of the research institute. However, there were those who tried to exploit the visit and its timing in order to attack Saudi Arabia. In Israel, too, they exploited the visit to report on closer [relations] and normalization,” he added.

The Saudis also distanced themselves from the event. A Saudi Foreign Ministry official said the visit “does not reflect the views of the Saudi government.”

However, over recent months there have been several reports of secret ties between Israel and several Sunni Muslim countries in the Gulf, and chiefly Saudi Arabia, which leads them.

Israel and the Gulf states share common interests and are both concerned about Iran’s regional belligerent policies and nuclear program as well as the advent of Islamic terrorism in the Middle East.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

The post Ex-Saudi general who visited Israel rejects normalization of ties appeared first on World Israel News.

Saudi Arabia is distancing itself from a recent visit by former Saudi general Anwar Eshki, who visited Jerusalem last week and met with Israeli officials, including Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold.

A Saudi Foreign Ministry official said the visit “does not reflect the views of the Saudi government,” this according to a report in the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper on Wednesday.

Although Israel and Saudi Arabia have no official diplomatic ties, they have reportedly unofficially grown closer in recent years over their shared concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program, its growing influence in the Middle East and the advent of Islamic terror.

The kingdom officially prohibits its citizens from traveling to Israel and does not grant entry to Israelis, but Saudi government permission was likely necessary for Eshki and the delegation of Saudi academics and businessmen to make the visit.

Eshki also met with Members of Knesset from several political parties in Jerusalem last Friday.

He currently heads a Saudi think tank in Jeddah and is believed to have close ties with the kingdom’s rulers. He has met with Israelis in the past and has given interviews to the Israeli media.

Over the past months there have been several reports of secret ties between Israel and several Sunni Muslim countries in the Gulf, and chiefly Saudi Arabia, which leads them.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

The post Saudi Arabia distances itself from visit by ex-general to Israel appeared first on World Israel News.