In an unusual event, Eshki had even appeared with him on stage a year ago at a public event at the Washington based think tank – the Council on Foreign Relations. Eshki now heads a Saudi think tank in Jeddah but is believed to have close ties with the kingdom’s rulers.
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“Without any advancements in the diplomatic process with the Palestinians there won’t be any advancements with Saudi Arabia or other Arab nations”, MK Ksenia Svetlova (Zionist Union) said as she relayed their message to the press.
It was headed by retired general Anwar Eshki, who met Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold, as well as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj.
According to a report by Israeli Haaretz newspaper, Eshki was accompanied by a delegation of Saudi business people and academics.
The head of a rare Saudi delegation to Israel and the occupied West Bank met a senior Israeli government official during his trip, Israel’s foreign ministry told AFP on Sunday.
During the visit they met with members of the Knesset to discuss advancing the prospects of the Arab peace initiative, said Haaretz. “The Saudis want to open up to rael”, he said.
Freige and other participants at the meeting said that Eshki wanted to meet them in order to encourage dialogue in Israel about the Arab peace initiative. “It’s a strategic move for them”.
Saudi Arabia has long promoted the Arab Peace Initiative proposal for a two-state solution, which would see Israel recognized by its Arab neighbors in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital. They want to continue what former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat started [the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty].
The Arab League, which has endorsed the plan, has said that it is not interested in amending it. They want to get closer to Israel.
Eshki’s visit comes as the Arab world, led by Egypt, is pushing for renewed peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Last month Haaretz reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed that the Initiative would never form the basis of peace talks, saying that he would never accept the terms of the original proposal.
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Israelis are now not permitted to be issued with travel visas for Saudi Arabia, but behind-the-scenes diplomatic relations between the two countries (who are both staunch regional allies of the US) have well documented for years.
