Prince Faisal appeared determined to pour cold water on stated expectations in Jerusalem and Washington that the kingdom’s decision, announced on Thursday, to open its airspace to all civil carriers – a move that would allow flights to and from Israel to China and India via much shorter and less expensive routes — marked a first step toward formal relations with Israel. “No, this has nothing to do with diplomatic ties with Israel,” the minister told a press conference after the GCC+3 regional summit in Jeddah. “The issue of overflights is a decision we took… in the best interest [of] providing connectivity between countries in the world and hopefully making life easier for some travelers. It is in no way a precursor to further steps.” In a speech late Friday night after two bilateral meetings here with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Biden called Riyadh’s overflight decision “a big deal, not just symbolically but substantively. “This is the first tangible step on the road to what I hope will ultimately be a broader normalization of relations” between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Biden added. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms On Friday morning, Prime Minister Yair Lapid similarly hailed the move “to open Saudi airspace to Israeli airlines” as “the first official step towards normalization with Saudi Arabia.” “I thank the Saudi leadership for opening the airspace of Saudi Arabia. This is only the first step,” Lapid added. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Saudi foreign minister’s remarks. US President Joe Biden takes the leave of Prime Minister Yair Lapid before departing Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on July 15, 2022 for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Amos Ben Gershom / GPO) Riyadh made the announcement in open air a day before Biden unveiled the planned withdrawal of an observer force protecting a pair of Red Sea islands, which would allow them to be transferred from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. The withdrawal was brokered by the US and required Israel’s permission because the presence of the observer force along with ensuring freedom of movement around the islands for the Jewish state was part of Jerusalem’s conditions for handing them over to Egypt as part of 1979 peace treaty. The Biden administration therefore pushed Riyadh to take what it framed as steps toward normalization with Israel. The first of these allowed Israeli overflights and the second allowed direct flights between Israel and Saudi Arabia for Muslim pilgrims. The latest demand has yet to be finalised, with the White House forced to tone down its announcement on Friday about the transfer to the island, saying it “welcomed the relevant steps under discussion to include direct flights from Israel to Jeddah for the Hajj next year to approved air carriers’. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also sought to ease speculation about Saudi-Israeli normalization, telling CNN in an interview Thursday that while such a step was “possible” and a “strategic choice,” A two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians was a “requirement” before Riyadh formalized ties with Jerusalem. Also during Saturday’s press conference, Prince Faisal insisted he was not aware of any talk at the Jeddah summit about Israel’s inclusion in a comprehensive air defense network in the Middle East – an initiative Washington and Jerusalem have openly discussed the last months. “There was no talk of a GCC-Israel defense alliance or anything like that. At least I am not aware of such discussions,” said the foreign minister. Featured: Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, left, and Army Commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi visit an underground tunnel of an Army drone base in the heart of the country’s western Zagros mountains, Saturday, May 28, 2022. ( Iranian Army via AP) Hours earlier, a senior Biden administration official who briefed the White House press corps at the summit said Israel’s inclusion in the comprehensive air defense network he hopes to establish with Middle Eastern allies would be significantly beneficial. “We believe there is great value in including as many capabilities as possible in this area, and certainly Israel has significant air and missile defense capabilities as needed,” the US official said, avoiding a direct answer to a question about whether progress had been made. in promoting the initiative. The idea of a joint air defense network between Israel and its Arab neighbors was raised during the Negev Summit of foreign ministers from Israel, the US, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt in March. In late June, Defense Secretary Benny Gantz said an air defense deal between Israel and its regional allies to combat Iran was “already in action.” During a briefing to lawmakers in the Knesset’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Gantz said Israel and its regional allies – led by the US – are developing a joint defense pact to protect against the threat of drones and missiles from Tehran and its regional proxies. The pact, dubbed by Gantz, “MEAD — Middle East Air Defense,” is intended to link air defense systems to counter Iran’s growing use of drones and missiles in the Middle East. Defense Secretary Benny Gantz, right, presents US President Joe Biden with the wing of a drone intercepted by the Iron Beam laser defense system as Prime Minister Yair Lapid (L) looks on at Ben Gurion Airport, July 13, 2022. (Ariel Hermoni /Ministry of Defense) While the defense secretary expressed hope that there would be progress on the effort during Biden’s trip to the Middle East this week, a senior US official told The Times of Israel beforehand that no announcement should be expected while the president was in Israel or Saudi Arabia. But the senior administration official who briefed reporters on Saturday said the US hoped there would be “additional announcements” in the coming weeks about the comprehensive air defense system for the Middle East. “Our allies and partners here in the region … have missile defense capabilities. We are responsible for contributing to many of these possibilities and believe that… it exists [a] great advantage in trying to see if we can network some of these capabilities together,” the US official added. Biden himself said in his remarks at the GCC+3 summit that the US is “integrating air defense and early warning systems to ensure we can defeat air threats.” Speaking more broadly about the importance of regional integration, Biden said: “The United States will build political, economic and security ties between the United States — between US partners wherever possible, respecting the sovereignty and independent choices of each country. Inclusion, interconnection — these are the key themes of our meeting today.” Biden flew home from Jeddah on Saturday afternoon, following a five-day trip that began in Israel and included a visit on Friday to the West Bank. You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. 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