Riyadh – Saudi Arabian Airlines has denied the authenticity of a picture circulating on social media of one of its planes parked at Ben Gurion Airport.
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The website of Qatar’s al-Jazeera television gave prominent coverage Monday to the denial in an apparent bid to embarrass Saudi Arabia, which is embroiled in a confrontation with Qatar over what Riyadh alleges is Doha’s support for terrorism.
It published a picture of a Saudi plane near the control tower labelled Ben-Gurion and alongside it the original picture of an El Al plane that was doctored.
The official spokesman of Saudi Arabian Airlines was quoted as saying that there are “parties and knowledgeable elements publishing lies and spreading rumors and inflating facts with the intent of harming Saudi Arabian Airlines as a national Saudi symbol.” It added that some well-intentioned people were being duped into retweeting the picture without checking its authenticity.
Publication of the picture came a week after the Times of London reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia may be on the way to establishing economic connections as a prelude to normalization of relations.
The paper cited American and Arab sources as saying the ties would begin with Israeli businesses opening in Saudi Arabia and El Al gaining permission to enter and fly through Saudi airspace.
Prospects for potential Israeli-Saudi contacts increased last week when King Salman’s son, Mohammed, was named crown prince. He has in common with Israeli leaders a sharp enmity towards Iran.
Talkbacks to the al-Jazeeranet article mocked the Saudis: “I expect a Tel Aviv-Mecca line soon,” said one.
“I don’t rule out a picture of Salman and Netanyahu in the same bedroom,” another respondent wrote.
Fake News!
err, hellllllooo everyone. Remember that Saudi plane (well, with Saudi markings – see next lines) that landed at Lud Airport back in May, 2015?
The backstory is that it was _leased_ by Saudia (the Saudi airline) from “Hi Fly”, and the latter was sending it to IAI for maintenance.
It was even covered by Vosizneias:
http://www.vinnews.com/202637/2015/05/06/tel-aviv-history-in-the-making-saudi-airliner-lands-in-israel-for-maintenance/
I live in Saudi. I fly to the US two or three times a year. I have not flown Saudia in more than ten or fifteen years. They simply do not go anywhere anyone wants to go. They simply cannot continue in business much longer.