Gesture to Israel: Saudi Arabia opens airspace
Saudi Arabia wants to open its airspace to all airlines - including those from Israel.
The country announced this shortly before the visit of US President Biden. Now hopes for a diplomatic rapprochement are increasing.
Ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the kingdom will open its airspace to “all airlines” — a gesture apparently aimed at Israel. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said on Twitter that airspace would be “opened to all airlines that meet the authority’s overflight requirements.” The move allows for an overflight for planes flying to and from Israel.
The US government was delighted with the announcement and spoke of a “historic decision”. Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said: “President Biden welcomes and commends the decision by the Saudi Arabian leadership to open Saudi airspace to all civilian airlines without discrimination, a decision that includes flights to and from Israel.” The decision paves the way for a “more integrated, stable and secure Middle East region, which is central to the security and prosperity of the US and the US people, and to the security and prosperity of Israel.”
Hope for diplomatic normalization
Almost two years ago, Saudi Arabia allowed an Israeli plane to fly over it on its way to Abu Dhabi and announced that planes from the United Arab Emirates to “all countries” would be allowed to use its airspace. The United Arab Emirates and Israel had previously agreed to establish diplomatic relations through US mediation.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said it will not establish official relations with Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved. Biden is expected to advocate normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia during his visit to the kingdom. Such a normalization is more likely to take place in small steps – such as the announcement of the opening of Saudi Arabian airspace.
Old demand of Israel
For some time, Israel has been insisting on opening up the kingdom’s airspace so that it can fly to destinations in Asia more quickly. The Israeli authorities also want Muslim pilgrims from Israel to be able to travel directly to Saudi Arabia. So far, they have had to make costly stopovers in third countries.
Biden is the first US President in history to fly direct from Israel to Saudi Arabia. His predecessor Donald Trump had traveled the route in the opposite direction. During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden is also likely to advocate for an increase in the country’s oil production in order to lower the price of oil and curb inflation in the United States.
Kashoggi murder sparks tensions
The visit to Saudi Arabia, the last stop on the President’s Middle East trip, is politically sensitive. The US President is due to meet controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the city of Jeddah on Saturday, although the latter is said to be behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to US intelligence reports. Before his election, Biden had said that Saudi Arabia should therefore be treated as a “pariah” state.
