WEST BANK (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime’s media say the regime’s military chief Gadi Eizenkot has held talks with his Saudi counterpart, major General Fayyad bin Hamid Raqed al-Ruwaili, in Washington as Tel Aviv moves to make its secret ties with Persian Gulf Arab governments public.
Kan public broadcaster reported the two sides had discussed several regional issues, including Iran, during their meeting on the sidelines of the Counter–Violent Extremist Organizations conference for military commanders, in the U.S.
In addition to Ruwaili, Eizenkot had also met with his counterparts from several Arab states on the sidelines of the same event, the report added.
The meeting between Eizenkot and Ruwaili was the first publicized talks between the two military chiefs.
After his first participation in the event, Eizenkot made a rare interview last November with the Saudi-owned Elaph online newspaper, where he expressed Tel Aviv’s readiness to share intelligence with Riyadh in their joint efforts to confront Tehran.
"We are ready to exchange experiences with Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence to confront Iran,” he said, noting that "there are many shared interests between us and Saudi Arabia.”
The Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, but they are widely believed to have secret liaisons. Latest reports say the two regimes are even working behind the scenes to establish formal contact.
Critics say Saudi Arabia’s flirtation with Israel would undermine global efforts to isolate Tel Aviv and affect the Palestinian cause in general.
They say Riyadh has gone too far in its cooperation with the Zionists as a way of deterring Iran as a regional rival.
In April, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with the TIME magazine that the two regimes have "a common enemy” and that they could immediately normalize their relations once the Palestine issue is resolved.