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Israeli diplomats prevented from attending MBS event in Paris

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media + Agencies
23 Jun 2023 17:29
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Israeli media suggest that the Saudi decision could be a response to the Israeli occupation escalation in the occupied West Bank this week.

French President Emmanuel Macron greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (AFP)

Israeli media reported on Friday a "diplomatic embarrassment" in the French capital, Paris, after Saudi Arabia prevented two Israeli diplomats from entering an event attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS).

According to the Israeli news website Walla!, two Israeli occupation Foreign Ministry officials who were invited to the welcome event held by MBS as part of the presentation of Saudi Arabia's candidacy to host the Expo 2030 conference discovered that their names had been removed from the list of invitees at the last minute and were not allowed to enter it, as per senior officials at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The Israeli website suggested that the Saudi decision to prevent the Israeli diplomats' entry, even though they were officially invited a few days earlier, could be a response by Riyadh to the Israeli occupation government's policy on the Palestinian issue and the escalation in the occupied West Bank this week.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia expressed its total rejection and denunciation of the attacks of the illegal Israeli settlers against the villages of the occupied West Bank.

It also added that the incident, even if it is only symbolic, indicates that the Saudis are still very sensitive to any gesture of normalization with the Israeli occupation.

A few days ago, Israeli media said the Saudi-Iran rapprochement inflicted harm on "Israel" and its interests in the region and distanced the kingdom from normalizing ties with the Israeli occupation.

Iran and Saudi Arabia signed on March 10 a Chinese-brokered agreement to restore diplomatic ties after several years of rift.

Tehran reopened its embassy in Riyadh in early June, some three months after the two sides agreed to reestablish bilateral relations.

Macron receives MBS

This comes as French President Emmanuel Macron received on Friday MBS at the Elysee Palace on the sidelines of a two-day climate summit and the two sides exchanged views on international and regional developments.

Macron and MBS confirmed their joint adherence to security and stability in the Middle and Near East and expressed their intention to continue their joint efforts for a permanent de-escalation of tensions.

Paris also expressed its willingness to keep pace with Riyadh in strengthening its defense capabilities, and Macron reminded of the intention of French companies to continue to keep pace with Saudi Arabia in implementing its 2030 Vision.

At the end of the summit attended by some 40 leaders, Macron hailed a "complete consensus" to reform global financial institutions and make them "more efficient, fairer and better suited to the world of today."

"We must start working now," Macron said, announcing that Paris will host a follow-up meeting two years later on this "consensus" for better financial weapons to combat poverty and global warming.

The summit indicated that the nearly 80-year-old financial system is no longer suitable for facing 21st-century challenges.

In a speech, leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed international institutions, saying, "With this mechanism, the rich are always rich and the poor are always poor."