Middle East Monitor / September 29, 2023
An Israeli minister’s arrival in Saudi Arabia this week shows that normalization between Tel Aviv and Riyadh already exists, the head of the Boycott and Anti-Normalization Campaign (BAN), Bassem Na’eem, said yesterday.
Na’eem stated that Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz is directly responsible for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and its desecration by extremist settlers.
He added the Israeli delegation’s participation in a UN event in Saudi, leaves “no room for doubt that official normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is already in effect.”
“We don’t need to wait for ceremonial announcements to recognize this dangerous agreement, which is being described as the largest and most significant since the end of the Cold War.”
Na’eem condemned the secretive attempts to push through the agreement and the efforts to convince Arab and Muslim communities to “accept this shameful relationship with a racist and fascist entity.” He added that normalization is a grave sin that history will not forgive and it will not bring security, stability, or prosperity to anyone.
On Tuesday, Katz made what his office called the first public trip to Saudi Arabia by an Israeli cabinet member to attend a UN tourism conference.
