to report «iusnews»; The Israeli regime’s economy ministry has claimed that its minister Nir Barkat met his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization conference in the UAE.
Barkat and Saudi Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi “were seen shaking hands and chatting amicably. They also exchanged business cards”, The Times of Israel reported on Monday, citing a statement from the regime’s economy ministry.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the WTO ministerial conference that kicked off in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Israeli officials and media outlets have been trying to portray Tel Aviv-Riyadh relations as developing in the past months.
That comes as Saudi Arabia, even before the start of the Gaza war, had set conditions for normalization with Israel, including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Experts believe that with the Gaza war putting serious challenges in the way of the normalization project pursued by Israel, the cabinet of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to use media campaigns to pretend that ties with major Arab countries are normal.
On February 7, the Saudi Foreign Ministry reiterated that it would not establish any diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized.
