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Secretary general of the Saudi Arabian National Security Council, Prince Bandar. (Archives)
Last update - 19:08 25/09/2006
Saudi prince may have held secret meeting with PM envoy
By Aluf Benn and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, and news agencies

Prince Bandar, secretary general of the Saudi Arabian National Security Council and former Saudi ambassador to the United States, may be the senior official at the center of reports of contacts between Riyadh and Israel, Haaretz has learned.

Early on Monday, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had held a secret meeting with a senior Saudi official, perhaps King Abdullah. Olmert later issued a guarded denial of the report.

It now appears, however, that the meeting may not have involved Olmert, but an envoy of the prime minister's, and that the prince may have been his interlocutor.
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Prince Bandar visited Jordan 10 days ago, the same time period as the reported secret Olmert meeting.

The prince served for nearly 22 years as the Saudi ambassador to Washington, playing a key role in facilitating peace moves in the Middle East.

The Prime Minister's Office said in response to the Haaretz report that "We know of no such meeting."

Olmert denies meeting Saudi king
Olmert, responding to reports he had secretly met with a senior Saudi Arabian figure on September 13, was quoted as saying Monday morning that "I did not meet with the Saudi king and I did not meet with any element which should have caused a sensation in the press."

Earlier in the day, however, officials in Jerusalem had said that Olmert met with a senior Saudi official they declined to identify.

Yedioth reported that some of the unnamed Israeli officials who had served as sources for the report said that Olmert had met with King Abdullah, and others hinted the talks were with a senior official close to the king.

Later on Monday, however, the Ynet Website, which is owned by Yedioth, quoted an interview with Olmert, in which he denied the initial report.

Israel Radio later quoted a Saudi legislator, Mahmoud a-Zalfa, as having denied the report as well.

Saudi Arabia was a moving force behind a 2002 Arab peace initiative cited in a document providing the basis for a unity government that rival Palestinian factions have been trying to form.

According to the newspaper, the peace plan was a main item on the agenda of the Israeli-Saudi talks 12 days ago, along with Iran's nuclear program and achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Yedioth first reported last week that Israel and Saudi Arabia had been holding secret talks since fighting erupted in July between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The newspaper said that that talks were due to Saudi Arabia's realization that Iran - which backs and funds Hezbollah - was capable of destabilizing the Middle East
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  1.   saudi slaves 08:09  |  Arief Contractor 25/09/06
  2.   no 1 ..put the finger on it 08:46  |  ravi 25/09/06
  3.   Senior Official in Sauid Arabia 08:47  |  Zaher 25/09/06
  4.   Peace is the king 09:53  |  Jasmine Murphy 25/09/06
  5.   Secret?! 09:56  |  Shelley 25/09/06
  6.   Idiot cabinet 10:06  |  Christian Levanon 25/09/06
  7.   Saudi talks 10:12  |  michael davis 25/09/06
  8.   Its Isreali citizens fault 10:14  |  BraveHeart 25/09/06
  9.   Peace cannot be achieved in secret 10:14  |  Adel 25/09/06
  10.   What`s Wrong With Jews Talking To Arabs? 10:16  |  Sam The Sham 25/09/06
  11.   doesnt surprise me at all 10:22  |  SD 25/09/06
  12.   The Core of the Middle East Problem 10:24  |  Adel 25/09/06
  13.   Secret... Deal.... Olmert...hmmmm 10:33  |  clever guy 25/09/06
  14.   Israel is a vital part of Saudi project of power 10:39  |  An Australian 25/09/06
  15.   Looking for protection 10:55  |  John DOWN THE WALL 25/09/06
  16.   Historic golden opportuniny 11:16  |  Dr D 25/09/06
  17.   Why not , they have been doing it in the US 11:22  |  fatima 25/09/06
  18.   ravi the people you are keen to support 11:51  |  and if not 25/09/06
  19.   To # 6 Are you irrelevant or an idiot ? 11:56  |  Yankelowitz 25/09/06
  20.   arief contractor is a pakistani national 11:58  |  flavius josephus 25/09/06
  21.   Pakistani hates Israel`s inhuman tratment towards the palestinean 12:34  |  skayani 25/09/06
  22.   The Saudis are the Answer 12:47  |  Ronnie Wolman 25/09/06
  23.   Saudi `King` 12:48  |  Chris 25/09/06
  24.   Ten Years 12:51  |  Chris 25/09/06
  25.   Listen to the Strong & Talk with the Weak 12:53  |  Karim 25/09/06
  26.   taking orders from israel 13:12  |  CHEEWAWA 25/09/06
  27.   To Ravi 14:16  |  Yossi 25/09/06
  28.   To Karim 14:37  |  Yossi 25/09/06
  29.   braveheart 15:40  |  bev 25/09/06
  30.   Adel 15:47  |  bev 25/09/06
  31.   Saudi contacts 16:09  |  SCH 25/09/06
  32.   Olmert reday to sacrifice Israel`s existence to save his post 16:11  |  Absolute Sweden 25/09/06
  33.   to Karim # 25 17:04  |  Ilya 25/09/06
  34.   Surprise 18:38  |  Jozef 25/09/06
  35.   RE # 31 SCH 18:52  |  CHEEWAWA 25/09/06
  36.   Jews and Muslims 20:20  |  The Seeker Of Truth 25/09/06
  37.   it is in everyone`s interest 21:23  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 25/09/06
  38.   Keep talking, right or wrong. It is better than fighting.. 21:24  |  omolll 25/09/06
  39.   Talking, its a good thing 21:42  |  Jacob Blues 25/09/06
  40.   Good but more complicated than it seems 21:48  |  Iranian-American 25/09/06
  41.   @37 Cipora Julianna Kohn 21:48  |  Mark B. 25/09/06
  42.   The World Must Unite Against Terrorism 21:50  |  Jane 25/09/06
  43.   To Ronnie Wolman about the Saudi`s 21:50  |  MArk B. 25/09/06
  44.   To all hypocrites supporting Israel and blabla-ing about 22:03  |  Mark B. 25/09/06
  45.   mark b put the doob down 22:40  |  chief slapahoe 25/09/06
  46.   To chief slapahoe 22:54  |  Mark B. 25/09/06
  47.   my man mark 23:14  |  chief slapahoe 25/09/06
  48.   Iranian-American: Poignant Questions 23:23  |  Ronnie Wolman 25/09/06
  49.   the 2 abdullahs 23:25  |  the mythic east 25/09/06
  50.   Arab politics 101 for Markb 23:27  |  Jacob Blues 25/09/06
  51.   james earl jones 23:29  |  starwarsfan 25/09/06
  52.   to sam the sham # 10 23:33  |  fatima 25/09/06
  53.   agree mark#46 01:57  |  fouad 26/09/06
  54.   Israel wrong moves 16:14  |  Hassan 28/09/06
  55.   to Ilya #33 16:18  |  Hassan 28/09/06
  56.   #36 jews and muslims 16:24  |  Hassan 28/09/06
  57.   World Organization Of Jews from Arab Lands 12:06  |  Samir S. Halavi 16/11/06
  58.   `worse than nazis` a reply to skyani of Alicante 17:15  |  samir from aleppo 02/09/08
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