Intel: What’s behind Israel’s latest decision to allow travel to Saudi Arabia

Israeli citizens are now allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for the first time in the country’s history, according to a statement Sunday by the country’s Interior Minister Aryeh Dery.

The rule applies to business meetings, including searching for new investment opportunities, as well as for Islamic pilgrimages, and can allow travel to the kingdom for up to 90 days. Business trips are conditional on the traveler receiving an invitation from a Saudi official as well as not having outstanding warrants that bar visits to the country. 

Israelis — particularly Arab-Israelis — have already been traveling to the kingdom in modest numbers for religious trips, yet in the past this required special permission from the government. 

Questions on implementation remain. In response to Israel’s announcement, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told CNN that Israeli passport holders cannot visit the kingdom “at the current time.” He noted Riyadh’s policy remains the same and that integrating Israel into the regional context is contingent on a peaceful resolution between the Palestinians and the Israelis.