an Israeli delegation is officially on Saudi soil, a first since the creation of Israel

For the first time since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, an Israeli delegation officially arrived on Saudi soil on the occasion of the 45th edition of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, in Riyadh, learned Sunday, September 10, the franceinfo journalist in Jerusalem from concordant sources.

Saudi Arabia, however, does not recognize the existence of Israel, but has decided to grant visas to Israeli officials for the first time. The delegation is made up of four senior officials, who arrived on Sunday for the start of this committee.

Signs of rapprochement between the two countries

This Israeli presence in Riyadh is all the more symbolic as the World Heritage Committee will examine during this session several texts relating to sites inscribed in the Palestinian territories.

If a bilateral meeting is not on the program, signs of rapprochement have been increasing for several months between the two countries. The Saudi government modified its school textbooks at the beginning of the summer, removing references to “the Zionist enemy”. At the end of August, Saudi authorities authorized the emergency landing of a plane with 128 Israelis on board in Jeddah, in the west of the country.