(AFP): A day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel designated Saudi Arabia as a “green” country, meaning returnees don’t need to quarantine.
The development was confirmed by the Israeli Health Ministry today (Tuesday), but dismissed any link to Netanyahu’s reported visit to the futuristic Red Sea city of Neom on Sunday. “The process is very simple and it happens once every two weeks,” health ministry director-general Hezi Levi told public broadcaster on Tuesday morning.
He further said, “On the previous list, Saudi Arabia was red. The morbidity rates decreased. It’s now green. It has nothing to do with anyone’s visit to any country.” Currently, only Israelis and foreigners with a residency visa are allowed to fly into Israel.
Those landing from “red countries” — those with high coronavirus rates — must observe a 14-day quarantine, while a return from “green countries” does not require travelers to self-isolate.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu travelled to Neom for landmark talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, which has no official diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. There has been unconfirmed speculation that Saudi Arabia might be seeking to become the latest Arab state to normalise ties with Israel.
According to an international news agency, an Israeli government source has confirmed the talks, which Riyadh firmly denied on Monday, and the kingdom has publicly said it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel until the Palestinian conflict is resolved.
Another country turned “green” in the ministry’s latest listing was Bahrain, which along with its Gulf ally the United Arab Emirates have established ties with Israel, only the third and fourth Arab nations to do so.
