Saudi Arabia prevented a group of Israeli Muslims, who were invited to attend a United Nations tourism event to honor their mountain village, from attending the celebration venue in the Saudi village of Al-Ula, in a sign, according to the agency. bloomberg However, Israel’s hopes for improving relations with Riyadh may be premature.
The United Nations chose the village of “Kfar Kama” among 32 other sites as the best rural tourism destinations for this year.
The winners were selected according to several criteria, including their commitment to economic, social and environmental sustainability.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization invited villagers and Israeli officials, along with officials from 22 countries, to the two-day event in the Saudi village.
But the Israelis did not get the visas, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.
Despite the “warmth” in relations between Tel Aviv and Riyadh, which was represented in allowing Israeli planes to fly over the territory of the Kingdom, which also granted Israelis visas for religious or commercial purposes, this warmth, according to the agency, was not translated into allowing the Israelis to participate in the event.
And following the election of the “most right-wing” Israeli government in history last November, tensions flared up inside Israel as well as in the occupied West Bank, where more than 80 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year.
And last Friday, Riyadh and Tehran announced the resumption of diplomatic relations between them, which angered Israel.
On Monday, the United Nations asked the Saudi Ministry of Tourism to issue visas to the Israeli delegation to “ensure equal rights,” according to a letter reviewed by Bloomberg.
Kfar Kama was built by Circassian immigrants from the Northwest Caucasus region in the late 1800s, although the archaeological history of the area goes back centuries. The city has remained predominantly Circassian ever since.
Many of its 3,500 residents are Muslims and speak Circassian as their first language.