A senior Saudi official said on Thursday morning that the Kingdom is considering inviting a senior Israeli official during or after US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region, Yediot Achronot reported.

The Saudi official, who serves as a political adviser to Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, said that the meeting is contingent on the success of Biden’s trip to the region.

According to i24 News, a Bahraini diplomat and an Egyptian official reported that it’s likely that Israeli representatives will be at the GCC+3 conference in Jeddah. If the Kingdom also decides to hold a three-way meeting with Biden and an Israeli official, a senior Israeli official may accompany Biden to Jeddah for that purpose.

Some of the names brought up as possible candidates to accompany Biden are National Security Council head Eyal Hulta, Mossad chief Dovid Barnea, and the director-general of the Foreign Ministry, Alon Ushpiz.

If a Saudi-Israeli-US meeting does take place during Biden’s visit, it would be of great benefit to the beleaguered president by diverting public attention from his abrupt change in policy toward “pariah” Saudi Arabia amid rising fuel prices. Additionally, he is eager to take credit for a significant achievement in foreign policy if a breakthrough does occur in Saudi-Israeli relations.

As far as Israel is concerned, the summit is an opportunity for Israeli officials to meet not only with Saudi Arabia but also with senior officials of the nine Arab states that are attending the summit, including countries with which Israel does not maintain ties, such as Oman and Kuwait.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)