Israeli minister shakes hands with Saudi counterpart in UAE; Riyadh denied, calling him an ‘unknown man’

Amidst the war in Gaza, Saudi Arabia has once again ignored Israel. Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat met Saudi Arabia’s Commerce Minister in Abu Dhabi on February 26 on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference. A video of the two shaking hands and exchanging business cards later went viral. Israel also issued a statement saying that the two ministers talked about peace during their brief conversation. However, Saudi Arabia rejected these reports and said that an unidentified person had contacted Majid al-Qassabi at the conference. See for more information. International news