Saudi minister says Israeli passport holders cannot visit: CNN
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Israelis were not welcome to visit the kingdom after Israel decreed that Israeli citizens could visit Saudi Arabia under certain circumstances, CNN reported on Monday.
“Our policy is fixed. We do not have relations with the state of Israel and Israeli passport holders cannot visit the kingdom at the current time,” the U.S. broadcaster quoted Prince Faisal bin Farhan as saying.
A statement from Israel’s interior minister on Sunday said Israelis - if invited and permitted by Saudi authorities - would be allowed to travel there for religious reasons on pilgrimage or for up to nine days for business reasons such as investment or meetings.
Israelis, mostly Muslims going on pilgrimage, have for years been visiting the kingdom, which hosts the two holiest sites in Islam, but usually with special permission or using foreign passports.
“When a peace agreement is reached between the Palestinians and the Israelis, I believe the issue of Israel’s involvement in the region will be on the table,” Prince Faisal said.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to disclose details of his Middle East peace plan to Israeli leaders on Monday, as Palestinian officials decried it as a bid “to finish off” the Palestinian cause.
Courtesy: www.reuters.com
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Small plane crashes in rural area of northeast Colombia, killing all 15 people on board
Bogota (AP): A small plane crashed Wednesday in a rural area of Norte de Santander province in northeast Colombia, killing all 15 people on board, authorities said.
Satena, the state-owned airline that operated the flight, said local officials in the community of Curasica notified authorities about where the plane had gone down and a rescue team was deployed to “assess the condition of the passengers.”
Colombia's Transportation Ministry later released a statement saying that “once the aircraft was located on site, authorities regrettably confirmed that there were no survivors.”
The aircraft, which has a registration number of HK4709, took off at 11:42 am local time from the airport in Cucuta, the department's capital, bound for Ocana, a municipality surrounded by mountains, on a flight that typically lasts about 40 minutes.
The aircraft's final contact with air traffic control came minutes after takeoff, according to a statement released by Satena.
The small plane was carrying two crew members and 13 passengers, including Diogenes Quintero, who represents the victims of the internal armed conflict in his region, the airline said.
