Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025

Israel asks Saudis to let Mecca pilgrims fly in from Tel Aviv

Israel asks Saudis to let Mecca pilgrims fly in from Tel Aviv

Israeli official asks Saudi Arabia to admit direct flights from Tel Aviv for Muslim pilgrims ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the kingdom.

Israel’s regional cooperation minister says that he has asked Saudi Arabia to admit direct flights from Tel Aviv for Muslim pilgrims to perform the Hajj, pointing to a possible new accommodation by Riyadh ahead of next week’s visit by US President Joe Biden.

Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Freij on Thursday said Israel has been working to bring what he deemed as “under-the-counter” contacts between the countries – based mostly on commercial interests and shared worries about Iran – more into the open.

“I want to see the day when I can depart from Ben-Gurion [airport] to Jeddah to fulfil my religious obligation” of pilgrimage to Mecca, said Freij, a member of Israel’s 18 percent Muslim minority.

“I took this matter up with Saudi Arabia and I really hope that day will come,” he told Israel’s Army Radio, without expanding on where or when such discussions took place.

Saudi Arabia has long admitted Muslim pilgrims from Israel but they must travel through third countries. That ends up costing approximately $11,500 for a week-long stay, Freij said. Pilgrims from neighbouring Arab countries pay around half that.

Israeli officials have also sought expanded permission for Israeli airlines to fly over Saudi territory to Asian destinations.

Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and has said nothing of possible bilateral developments during Biden’s visit. Israel has also shied from drawing such links.

But a person in Washington who was familiar with the matter said the new aviation deals sought by Israel could be announced around the time of Biden’s visit but that details still needed to be worked out and may not be completed in time.




When the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established relations with Israel in 2020, Riyadh signalled its assent by providing a Saudi air corridor for Israeli planes headed to those Gulf states.

“We are in talks on getting general [Saudi] over-flight rights for destinations other than Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Manama. This will save significant times for reaching Asian destinations, for example,” an Israeli official told the Reuters news agency.

Separately, an Israeli daily newspaper reported that an adviser to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the possibility of holding a meeting between Saudi, American and Israeli officials was being considered during Biden’s visit to the kingdom next week.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×