Mossad plane lands in Riyadh ahead of Biden's visit: Israeli media
Israeli Makan channel confirms that a private Israeli Mossad plane "landed this afternoon in Riyadh."
-
Israeli media: Mossad plane lands in Riyadh for Biden's visit.
The political affairs commentator for the Israeli Makan channel, Shimon Aran, said today, Monday, that a private Israeli plane "that the Israeli Mossad used in the past landed this afternoon in Riyadh."
The Israeli commentator confirmed, through his account on Twitter, that the plane landed this afternoon in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, apparently in preparation for US President Joe Biden's visit.
US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he aims to "strengthen a strategic partnership" with Saudi Arabia during a visit next week but claimed that he will hold true to "fundamental American values."
In a Washington Post opinion piece published Saturday, Biden wrote, "I know that there are many who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia."
"My views on human rights are clear and long-standing, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as they will be during this trip," he claimed.
Read next: Biden warms up to Riyadh, considers canceling arms sales restrictions
Biden is holding bilateral talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his leadership team during his visit to the Middle East this week.
Biden said in a comment published in the Washington Post late on Saturday that his goal is to "redirect, not sever, relations with a country that has been a strategic partner of the United States for 80 years."
In conjunction with the approaching date of Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia, four people familiar with the matter said the US President's administration "is discussing the possibility of canceling its embargo on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, but the final decision depends on Riyadh making progress toward ending the war in Yemen."
Read next: Biden to meet with Saudi King Salman, MBS: WH
Following the announcement of US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia, multiple US lawmakers expressed their concerns, CNN reported, ignoring, however, the Israeli occupation crimes against Palestinians.
Among those who made remarks on the upcoming visit was Senate Majority Whip Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who called on the US President to change his plans.
On his part, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described Biden's trip as a "really bad idea", especially in regard to the case of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"What's the fundamental issue in the world right now? It's the authoritarians. ... I don't think you go say, 'Well, circumstances change. We sit down with a murderer who killed a journalist (Khashoggi) who lives in Virginia.'"
