Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud on Monday denied an earlier Israeli report that Israeli citizens could now visit the country, stressing that Saudi policy remained unchanged on the issue.
“Our policy remains the same. We do not have relations with the State of Israel and Israeli passport-holders cannot—at this time—visit the kingdom,” said Prince Faisal, according to a CNN report.
The Saudi foreign minister added that this was only likely to change in the event of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
“Once there is a peace deal ... reached between the Palestinians and the Israelis, I think the integration of Israel into the regional context is very much on the table,” he said.
Israel’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Israelis could now travel to Saudi Arabia for religious or business purposes without the need to obtain special permission as was the case in the past. The statement did note, however, that Israelis wishing to visit the Saudi kingdom would still require an official invitation.
Until now, Israelis wanting to travel to Saudi Arabia or other Arab states that do not have official relations with Israel have had to use foreign passports or be granted special permission.
