Israeli Transport Minister Merav Michaeli spoke about what she called “ongoing work” with Saudi Arabia to normalize relations between the two countries.

The minister explained that “work is underway with Saudi Arabia regarding the overflight of Israeli aircraft over its territory, which may reduce the flight time as part of the normalization process. What good news is that, isn’t it?” Pointing out that no results can be expected at this time, “but work is in progress”.

And she continued: “I, who believe in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a regional settlement, try to use transportation for this, which is a very important tool to strengthen these relations.”

Minister Michaeli’s statements come five days after the Jewish newspaper Israel Hayom reported on a trilateral deal that it said was being formed between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States, which represents a new step towards normalization of relations between Tel Aviv and Israel. Aviv and Riyadh. And the newspaper pointed out that Saudi Arabia is about to open its airspace to Israeli airlines, which is good news for thousands of Israelis and the local aviation industry.

It should be noted that Saudi Arabian airspace is currently only open to Israeli companies when flying to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain under the Abraham Accords, and the Indian company Air India has a special permit to fly through Saudi Arabian airspace when flying between India. and Israel.