There will be no direct flights between Israel and Saudi Arabia for Haj pilgrims this year.
According to Israeli media, the chairman of the National Security Council has confirmed that direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia will not be available for Hajj pilgrims after months of intense efforts by Israeli, Saudi and American negotiators.
According to reports, during US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region in July last year, he and the US administration believed that the launch of direct flights would be a step towards reaching a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The White House said the US welcomed the move under discussion to add direct flights from Israel to Jeddah for next year’s Hajj.
According to Israeli media, the parties have since been negotiating to operate flights in time for the pilgrims from June 25 to July 2 this year.
The Israeli media, citing three sources familiar with the matter, said that the delay on the part of Saudi Arabia was not political, the airline that the parties were hoping to operate flights from could not prepare on time.
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