A plane returning to Tel Aviv from the Seychelles stopped in Saudi Arabia due to an emergency condition. Israel hailed the action as a gesture of good intentions as the US strives to forge official ties between the two nations.
After the plane touched down in Tel Aviv yesterday, prime minister of Israel used the chance to emphasize the opportunity for better relations. A deal with Saudi Arabia is already one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s top priorities
Due to a power failure, the Air Seychelles plane with 128 passengers had to ground a day earlier. In an interview that was captured in local language with Arabic subtitles, he stated, “I truly value the warm approach of the Saudi officials to the Israeli passengers whose palen was in trouble.” He continued by expressing his gratitude for the kind neighbors.
According to the Israeli Department of Foreign Affairs, the travelers were transported back by the carrier on a different aircraft after spending their night at a Jeddah airport hotel.
Data from tracking systems revealed that Air Seychelles aircraft HM22, an Airbus A320, had been redirected to Jeddah. An inquiry for comment from the airline was not returned. A day later, an additional Air Seychelles A320 took off from Dubai to Jeddah to take the passengers and transport them to Tel Aviv.
A restriction on Israeli overflights was removed by Riyadh in last year during American President’s trip to the country.
Travelers poured out of Israeli Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv yesterday. The throng of the media, photographers, and celebration balloons that welcomed them seemed to catch some people off guard.
The travelers described their time in Jeddah in talks with Israeli media as nice, with several of Saudi servants even wishing them a good day in Hebrew.
Plane Lands, But Still No Agreement
According to the local media in Israel, one of the plane passengers said that “the greeting we got from the Saudis was very surprising. They smiled and said, ‘You are very welcome,’ to us. In all honesty, we weren’t anticipating this.” Saudi Arabia did not respond immediately.
Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia wasn’t one of the Arab nations to normalize relations with Israel as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords, which were mediated by the US, speculations about a forthcoming agreement have emerged in recent years.
Although Israel and Saudi Arabia don’t have any formal diplomatic relations, they have become close via their shared worries over regional developments and security issues.
A normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, the most prominent and affluent Arab nation, has the possibility to fundamentally alter the region and elevate Israel’s stature. However, arranging an agreement of this kind will be difficult because the monarchy has said that it will not recognize Israel in any official capacity until the protracted Israeli-Palestinian issue has been resolved.
Recurrent assaults have resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries against Palestinian residents in the West Bank. The incumbent extremist administration of Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has been held responsible for the deadliest year in Palestinian lands.
Tel Aviv has also clarified it that, despite worldwide outrage and charges of apartheid from human rights organizations, it will keep setting up illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Saudis, for their part, appear to be looking for a grasp on US weapons systems as well as defense assurances. As a result of Israel’s statement that its foreign minister will meet with his counterpart from Libya in Rome, Israeli news analysts said that efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia had been seriously undermined.
