Israeli flight makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia

Israeli flight makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia

A plane carrying Israelis home from the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles made an emergency stop in Saudi Arabia before flying back to Tel Aviv on Tuesday, in what Israel praised as a sign of goodwill as Washington works to establish formal relations between the two countries.

Israeli media reported the Air Seychelles flight carrying 128 passengers was forced to land Monday because of an electrical malfunction. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the passengers spent the night at an airport hotel in Jeddah and were flown back by the airline on an alternate plane.

Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have official ties, although they have developed strong but informal connections over recent years over their shared concerns about Iran's growing influence in the region. After Israel and four Arab states signed normalization deals in 2020 under the former Trump administration, President Joe Biden has been working to strike a similar agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made an agreement with Saudi Arabia a major goal, seized on the incident to highlight the potential for improved ties.

"I greatly appreciate the warm attitude of the Saudi authorities to the Israeli passengers whose flight was in distress," he said in