The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced to open its airspace for all flights to and from Israel. The decision came hours before US President Joe Biden was due to arrive in the kingdom.
US President Biden applauded the decision of the Saudi government decision and remarked it as a ‘historic decision’. Joe Biden credited his administration with helping to settle the deal.
The Saudi Arabian government had already allowed some flights to Israel to operate in its airspace. All airlines will be included in this decision, thus significantly reducing travel times between Israel and Asia.
The announcement came after the US negotiated an agreement in which Israel and Saudi Arabia agreed on security arrangements for two Red Sea islands that Egypt had given to Saudi Arabia in 2017.
Under the new agreement, Israel is expected to agree to transfer the multinational forces stationed on the islands under a peace treaty with Egypt.
According to the reports, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has signalled his interest in improving relations with Israel.
The Saudi Arabian government, however, refused to sign the 2020 Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.
Considering itself the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and a leader of the Muslim world, Saudi Arabia has demanded that Israel resolve its conflict with the Palestinians before normalizing relations with the kingdom.