Israel's top intelligence official offered Saudi Arabia rare public praise on Wednesday for what he deemed its efforts, under King Salman, to lead "pragmatic" Sunni Muslim states confronting Iran and to overhaul Riyadh's oil-dependent economy.
The tribute by military intelligence chief Major-General Herzi Halevy at an international security forum followed years of veiled references by Israel to back-channel contacts with Gulf Arab powers - despite their lack of formal bilateral ties. [...]
Israel has long talked about a "new horizon" in the Middle East, in which has had common ground with Sunni Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia in their wariness towards Iran. Israel has also talked recently about its openness to a 2002 Saudi initiative for a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians, although there appears to be little momentum in that direction.
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