Moving towards normalization? According to last evening's (Tuesday) report on of The Wall Street Journal, a senior figure in the Saudi Kingdom has offered financial support to the Palestinians that would secure the continued leadership of the Palestinian Authority's Abu Mazen in his position, in exchange for establishing relations with Israel.
It has been further reported that in the coming week, a Palestinian delegation will visit Saudi Arabia to discuss how to establish a Palestinian state in coordination with Israel. Additionally, the Saudi Crown Prince has pledged to the head of the Palestinian Authority that Saudi Arabia will renew funding in exchange for gaining control over the terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria.
Furthermore, Abu Mazen was informed that Israel will not get any agreement that would undermine efforts to establish a future Palestinian state. According to the Saudi source, the Palestinians will play a significant role in guaranteeing contacts with Israel.
Yesterday, it was reported that Air Seychelles flight number HM22, en route from Seychelles to Israel, experienced a malfunction onboard during the flight. The pilots were forced to perform an unplanned landing at an airport in Saudi Arabia. As a result, 128 Israeli citizens landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The passengers spent the night at a hotel located at the airport, and yesterday morning, an alternative Air Seychelles flight took off from Dubai International Airport to Jeddah Airport. Among the passengers on the flight were the brother and sister-in-law of Member of Knesset Almog Cohen from the "Otzma Yehudit" party.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the incident in which a flight that was en route to Israel had to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabian territory with Israeli passengers onboard, who were subsequently taken care of by local authorities. According to him: "I greatly appreciate the warm treatment of the Saudi authorities towards the Israeli passengers whose plane encountered difficulties and had to make an emergency landing in Jeddah. I'm glad that everyone is returning home. I highly value the good neighborliness."