An Israeli official stated on Saturday that he anticipated Saudi Arabia’s Muslim minority would be able to travel directly there for pilgrimage by the end of the current year after the country showed new openness by hosting U.S. President Joe Biden.
Riyadh announced on Friday that its airspace will be accessible to all airlines, effectively expanding the Israeli aircraft’s flyover privileges, which had previously been limited to routes to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Peninsula.
Israel’s minister for regional cooperation, Esawi Freij, stated that the Saudi decision demonstrated that attempts to promote the nations’ normalisation of relations, sponsored by the United States, are ‘at a very advanced stage’ and may ‘transform the dream into reality’ for Muslims like himself.
According to Freij, a Muslim Israeli citizen will be able to travel to Mecca to fulfil his religious obligation in a year by flying from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv to Jeddah.
He refused to disclose the basis for this forecast.
Riyadh did not immediately respond with a response.
Freij claimed last week that he had asked Saudi Arabia to permit direct flights between Tel Aviv and Jeddah for Muslim pilgrims. Such authorization was on the way, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday.
Muslims from Israel have long been permitted into Saudi Arabia.
However, they have to pass through undeveloped nations. That results costing over $11,500 for a week’s stay, according to Freij. Nearby Arab nations charge around half that to pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia, the country that gave rise to Islam, refuses to recognise Israel because doing so would necessitate first resolving Palestinian statehood aspirations.
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