Israeli delegation attends UN heritage conference in Saudi Arabia in first public visit by officials

By JOSEF FEDERMAN
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli official says a delegation has arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend a U.N. conference on world heritage sites. It’s the first public visit by Israeli government officials to the kingdom. The delegation is led by the head of Israel’s Antiquities Authority and includes diplomats. It’s not a bilateral visit, and it is unclear whether the delegation will meet with Saudi officials. The visit comes as Washington is pushing to broker normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which are believed to have quietly cultivated ties in recent years over their shared suspicion of Iran.