Ex-“Israeli” Official: MBS Made Several Trips to Tel Aviv

“Foreign reports indicate that Mohammed bin Salman has enjoyed the Tel Aviv sunshine several times,” said the former Shin Bet official, who spoke to Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV on condition of anonymity.

This is not the first time that Bin Salman's trips to the “Israeli” entity are being disclosed. In October 2017, an “Israeli” official confirmed that Bin Salman had traveled to the entity and held consultations with senior officials there.

The visits come as Saudi Arabia and the “Israeli” entity do not have formal diplomatic relations. And while there had already been reports that the “Israeli” and Saudi regimes have been tilting toward one another in recent years, a confirmed visit by an official as high-ranking as bin Salman takes the matter to a completely new and potentially explosive level as anti-“Israeli” sentiments continue to be high on the Arab street.

While the “Israeli” entity and Riyadh may be fine with cozying up to one another, many ordinary Arabs, in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, are firmly opposed to the establishment of ties with the Tel Aviv regime because of its occupation of Palestinian lands and atrocities against the Palestinian population.

In his Monday comments, the former “Israeli” security official claimed that Arab countries believe normalization of their relations with "Israel" is more important than the Palestinian people's cause

Last month, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates [UAE] reached a US-brokered deal with the entity to normalize relations, amid speculation other Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, would follow suit.

The head of the “Israeli” entity’s Mossad spy agency indicated in a September interview that Saudi Arabia could be in line to normalize ties with the entity following the so-called “peace” agreements with the UAE and Bahrain.

Yossi Cohen has been cited as a key figure in the US-sponsored “Abraham Accords” with Abu Dhabi and Manama. Cohen reportedly shuttled to Gulf states on numerous secretive journeys in recent years to build closer clandestine ties with Arab nations.

He said the move to formalize ties was achieved through long years of “contacts managed very very delicately.”

On Friday, the “Israeli” newspaper Maariv revealed that Saudi Arabia has played in a key role in convincing Bahrain and the UAE to normalize their ties with Tel Aviv.

The report said the normalization deals were not possible without Riyadh's "consent" and "close consultations".