Israeli official media and a minister confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the city of Neom in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, but Netanyahu refrained from denying or confirming the news, after denial by the Saudi Foreign Minister.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Elias Karam from occupied Jerusalem said that Netanyahu refrained from making any statements in this regard, about an hour after announcing an important political speech that he intends to deliver at a meeting of his party's blocs in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament).

Netanyahu said only that he was seeking to "expand the circle of peace in the region."

This came after Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud denied what was reported about that meeting, which was said to have been held with the participation of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was on a visit to the region.

Saudi exile

"I have seen press reports about an alleged meeting between the crown prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit of Secretary Pompeo," the Saudi minister said on Twitter. "No such meeting took place. Those present were only American and Saudi officials."

On the Israeli side, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz attacked the source of the news leak, which was understood to be an allusion to the Prime Minister's Office, according to what the Al-Jazeera correspondent said.

Gantz said the leak was "an irresponsible act, and should be of concern to the Israelis."

I have seen press reports about a purported meeting between HRH the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit by @SecPompeo.

No such meeting occurred.

The only officials present were American and Saudi.

- Faisal bin Farhan (@FaisalbinFarhan) November 23, 2020

Confirm military censorship

Unusually, the Israeli military censor confirmed to the Israeli state radio the news that Netanyahu and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen traveled to Saudi Arabia on Sunday on board a private plane.

For his part, Israeli Education Minister Yoav Galant confirmed that Netanyahu met the Saudi Crown Prince and the US Secretary of State - in the presence of the head of the Mossad - during a secret visit to Saudi Arabia.

"The fact that the meeting took place and has been publicly speaking about it, even if semi-official, is very important," Galant said in a statement to Israeli Army Radio.

The director of the Al-Jazeera office in Palestine, Walid al-Omari, indicated that the Israeli censorship’s permission to publish the news confirms its authenticity, and that the same plane was repeatedly used by Netanyahu on secret and overt missions, adding that the Israeli radio reported the news from a senior government official who did not mention his name. Netanyahu himself.

He said that Israeli media published the details of what happened, and that it was also revealed that Netanyahu and Cohen's trip to Saudi Arabia and their meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince was the real reason behind the postponement of the emergency meeting of the Ministerial Emergency Committee on the Corona pandemic, despite the excuses that were announced as a reason for the delay.

He added that this meeting was preceded by a statement made by Netanyahu during the memorial of Ben-Gurion on the anniversary of his death, in which he said that Arab countries have radically changed their positions, and are now supporting the establishment of relations with Israel, and that the train of normalization continues.

He pointed out that yesterday's meeting appears not to be the first between the two (Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Salman), whether in Saudi Arabia or outside it.

ABSOLUTELY rare Israeli flight direct to new Saudi mega-city Neom on Red Sea shore

It was Bibi's ex-fav bizjet t7-cpx.

Back to Tel Aviv after 5 hours on ground pic.twitter.com/Ty9aedYbsK

- avi scharf (@avischarf) November 23, 2020

American and Israeli reports

For its part, the American Wall Street Journal quoted two Saudi advisers as saying that the meeting between Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Salman took two hours, and normalization and Iran were discussed.

The website of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper revealed this morning that an Israeli plane - previously used by Netanyahu on foreign missions in the past - took off yesterday from Ben Gurion Airport (east of Tel Aviv) to the airport of the Saudi coastal city of Neom, where it stayed at the airport for 5 hours, before taking off Back to Israel.

According to the newspaper's website, the plane arrived there during the meeting of Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan with his guest, the US Secretary of State, who was on his way back to his country.

The site stated in its report that US President Donald Trump was the most praiseworthy praise for Saudi Arabia after the conclusion of peace agreements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, and said that it would join the train of normalization with Israel, but reports confirm that King Salman is still opposed to this.

The Walla news site also reported that the Israeli prime minister visited Saudi Arabia secretly, accompanied by the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, and met there with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

According to the news, reported by the journalist who specializes in investigative reporting, Barak Rafid, Netanyahu and Cohen took off for Saudi Arabia on a private plane for businessman Audi Angel at 5 pm yesterday, as the plane stayed for 5 hours in the Saudi coastal city of Neom on the Red Sea.

In the context, Yitzhak Levanon, a former Israeli ambassador and expert on Middle East affairs, said that the meetings between Saudi and Israeli officials have been going on for a long time.

During an intervention with Al-Jazeera, Levanon added that Netanyahu's visit to Saudi Arabia is not surprising, given the relations and contacts between the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, and a number of Saudi officials.