Although sub-rosa diplomatic contacts and security ties between Jerusalem and Riyadh have been an open secret for some time, the Arab kingdom has avoided any public acknowledgment of its relations with the Jewish state, with which it remains in an official state of war. But some recent developments suggest changing attitudes, while also pointing to the limits of how far the Saudis are willing to go. Bradley Bowman, Lauren Harrison, and Ryan Brobst explain:
Israeli and Saudi fighter jets participated in the same patrol mission, albeit at different times, on October 30, accompanying a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula and attempting to send a message of deterrence to Tehran. Riyadh’s willingness to join a military mission involving Israel is the latest indication that the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran are incentivizing some Arab capitals to tiptoe toward overt security cooperation with Israel. . . . Saturday’s flight represented only the second time that Riyadh has participated in a U.S. bomber-patrol mission that included Israeli aircraft.
While the involvement of Saudi and Israeli fighters in the same mission is significant, that development does not necessarily mean normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is imminent. In its press release regarding the patrol mission, Riyadh failed to mention Israel, actually referring to the multilateral mission as a “bilateral exercise” with the U.S. Air Force. On October 31, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan al-Saud, said a Palestinian state is a precondition for Riyadh to normalize relations with Israel.
Yet this position may reflect transient politics more than long-term policy. Indeed, an Israeli commercial jet landed in Riyadh in late October, reportedly marking the first time an Israeli public flight has landed in the kingdom. That first occurred a day after a Saudi jet landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport.
Read more on FDD: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2021/11/06/saudi-arabia-israel-security-cooperation/