MBS’s condition was for the visit was that it would take place in total secrecy and that his presence in Washington would become known only once the meeting was underway.
TOBIAS SIEGAL
0 19:45Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was reportedly meant to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, but canceled amid fears that the news of his trip had been leaked, according to Arab news agencies.
According to the reports, MBS was expected to arrive in the US on August 31, with four houses purchased at secret locations just for him, as he reportedly preferred not to stay in the embassy or the ambassador’s residence, which are known locations to attract demonstrations against the heir to the Saudi throne.
MBS’s condition was that the visit would take place in total secrecy and that his presence in Washington would become known only once the meeting was underway.
US President Donald Trump and his adviser Jared Kushner reportedly saw the possibility of a handshake between Netanyahu and MBS as a way to boost support for the US-brokered normalization deal between the UAE and Israel, and were pushing for the meeting to take place.
However, MBS reportedly was not convinced that his arrival in the US would remain a secret, and out of fear of demonstrations and legal action taken by protesters for the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and lawyers acting for ex-intelligence official Saad al-Jabri, he decided to cancel the trip.
“His advisers told him that if the visit were leaked, the CIA, Congress, journalists, campaigners for Khashoggi and lawyers for Jabri would all have time to launch a massive negative campaign against him and his presence in Washington would become a nightmare,” an unnamed Saudi source told the Middle East Eye, a news portal.
“MBS was going to Washington on 31 August. It was fixed. It was meant to be to do something big related to Israel. What exactly was still under discussion.
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“The meeting itself with Netanyahu would either have been private or in front of the cameras. Either way it was meant to be a big thing. It was not expected to be full announcement of normalization of relations, but giving a hint he is going in that direction,” the source added.
The report added that other announcements from Gulf states, possibly from Bahrain, were expected to coincide with the visit that would mark a big step towards fully implementing the normalization deal signed between Israel and the UAE on August 13.
Speaking to CNBC, Kushner expressed optimism in other countries following the unprecedented path taken by the UAE. “I do think that we have other countries that are very interested in moving forward,” he added. “And then, as that progresses, I do think it is an inevitability that Saudi Arabia and Israel will have fully normalized relations,” he said.
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