Rabbi for the GCC's Jewish community prays for Saudi crown prince's recovery after appendicitis treatment

The Israel in Arabic Twitter account of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has often courted Arab Gulf states, posted a video showing Rabbi Ya'qub Yisrael praying for bin Salman.

The account wrote: "We are pleased to join our wishes for these prayers, calling for his full health and wellness."

On Wednesday, the Saudi Royal Court announced that the Crown Prince had left the hospital after undergoing an appendectomy.

Israel and Saudi Arabia currently have no official diplomatic relations, unlike the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with whom Tel Aviv normalized ties last September.

Prince Mohammed reportedly told Israeli-American billionaire Haim Saban he would fear for his life if he struck a normalisation deal with Israel, claiming it would get him "killed by Iran, by Qatar and my own people."

Israel and Saudi Arabia have still strengthened secret relations, including through intelligence sharing and other forms of cooperation. Bin Salman has reportedly also shown more openness towards ties with Tel Aviv.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and bin Salman reportedly met in the Saudi city of Neom in November. However, Saudi Arabia stopped responding to direct and indirect contact from Israel since Tel Aviv exposed the secret meeting, an Israeli source told London-based news outlet Elaph.

Israel is currently in talks with the Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in establishing a four-nation defence alliance, according to a new report from Israeli channel i24NEWS.

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