Direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia for the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage will not happen this year, according to Israeli officials. Israel had hoped that Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s two holiest sites, would allow members of Israel’s Muslim minority to fly directly for this year’s Hajj as a goodwill gesture. However, with the pilgrimage taking place from June 25 to July 2, there have been no airlines applying to run special flights to Saudi destinations. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi acknowledged that direct flights would not happen this year, but expressed the hope that they may be possible for the next Hajj.
Riyadh, which made no formal offer of direct flights, has refrained from following the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in establishing ties with Israel, indicating that Palestinian statehood goals should be addressed first. Israeli and U.S. officials had predicted that Saudi Arabia might normalize relations with Israel as part of a US-mediated peace deal. However, Hanegbi, in a recent interview, said that normalization was a ways off because it would hinge on addressing strains between Riyadh and Washington. According to a source familiar with the matter, Riyadh wants U.S. support for its civilian nuclear program in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel, while Israel has voiced misgivings over any such quid-pro-quo.
The Biden administration has described normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia as a U.S. national security interest, but there are currently ongoing tensions between Riyadh and Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Saudi Arabia on June 8 and pledged to continue working on normalization in the days, weeks and months ahead. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has suggested that there may be a window of opportunity through March 2024 for Washington to address Saudi demands for normalizing relations.
While direct flights between Israel and Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj are not possible, much focus remains on the possibility of normalized relations between the two countries. Any steps towards such normalization would have significant implications for the Middle East and international relations.
