A mysterious flight took off from Ben-Gurion Airport to Saudi Arabia on Sunday during Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the Gulf State, prompting reports that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ and Mossad head Yossi Cohen had traveled to Saudia Arabia and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mahmoud Bin Salman and Pompeo, Israeli media reported on Monday morning.

Walla News and Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported that Netanyahu held a trilateral meeting with the Crown Prince and Pompeo in the city of Neom on the Red Sea coast.

The plane was a private one owned by Israeli businessman Ehud ‘Udi’ Angel, which Netanyahu has traveled on in the past for visits to Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to air traffic reports, the plane took off from Ben-Gurion at 10 p.m. Sunday and flew directly to Neom and returned to Israel five and a half hours later.

BREAKING: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu travelled secretly yesterday to the city of Neom in Saudi Arabia and had a trilateral meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli source tells me. Netanyahu's office didn't deny the story

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 23, 2020

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

The meeting in Neom is the first known meeting held between an Israeli and Saudi leader.

Pompeo had tweeted on Monday about his meeting with the Crown Prince but did not mention Netanyahu or Israel.

Constructive visit with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in NEOM today. The United States and Saudi Arabia have come a long way since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz Al Saud first laid the foundation for our ties 75 years ago. pic.twitter.com/KZ4XMkah03

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 23, 2020

The meeting in Neom took place around the same time that a coronavirus cabinet meeting was scheduled to take place in Israel. Netanyahu has announced on Motzei Shabbos that the meeting, scheduled for Sunday night, would be delayed until Monday, mentioning that Science and Technology Minister Yizhar Shay required more time to finalize his digital surveillance program. However, Shay told Channel 12 News on Sunday that he had no idea why the meeting was postponed.

Political maneuvering has already started regarding the top-secret meeting as according to reports, Netanyahu did not inform coalition partners Alternative Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi about his trip.

Netanyahu didn’t update in advance his coalition partners Minister of Defense Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi about the trip to Saudi Arabia, Israeli officials tell me. Both Gantz and Ashkenazi are Netanyahu’s political rivals

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 23, 2020

The Prime Minister’s Office stated that it has no comments on the report but didn’t deny it either. In what was likely a hint about the meeting, Netanyahu’s social media adviser Topaz Luk wrote a Twitter post slamming Defense Minister Benny Gantz for “playing politics” – a reference to Gantz’s launch on Sunday of an investigation into the submarine affair – while Netanyahu is “making peace.”

“Gantz is playing politics while Netanyahu is making peace,” Luk tweeted.

Earlier in the day on Sunday, Netanyahu said in a speech: “Thanks to our determined stand against the nuclearization of Iran, and to our opposition to the nuclear agreement with Iran, many Arab countries have fundamentally changed their approach to Israel.”

Since Biden’s win, Saudi Arabia has expressed fears of the new administration reentering the Iran nuclear deal.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)