Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel flew to Saudi Arabia for a covert meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Israeli news media reported on Monday.
Hours after those reports, attributed to an unidentified Israeli official, the Saudi foreign minister flatly and publicly denied that such a meeting had taken place.
The confusing turn of events came as Israel and the Trump administration have promoted the idea that a diplomatic opening between Saudi Arabia and Israel is only a matter of time, while Saudis have continued to insist that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal must come first.
The meeting, if confirmed, would be the first known meeting between high-level Israeli and Saudi leaders.
But the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, denied that any meeting with Netanyahu had taken place, insisting that Prince Mohammed had met only with secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who was completing a seven-nation farewell tour.
“There was no meeting,” Prince Faisal wrote in a text message when asked about Netanyahu. Prince Faisal said he had accompanied Pompeo during his visit and that “Saudi and American officials were the only ones present throughout.”
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