Air India launched on Thursday the first scheduled service to Israel to be allowed to cross Saudi airspace, a sign of a behind-the-scenes improvement in ties between the Arab kingdom and the Jewish state.

The White House on Tuesday hosted 19 nations, including Israel and Arab Gulf states, to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but the Palestinian Authority boycotted the meeting, angered by the Trump administration’s policies on Jerusalem.

Saudi Arabia has given Air India permission to fly between New Delhi and Tel Aviv over Saudi airspace, the airline’s spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday, ending a 70-year ban and marking a diplomatic shift.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday (March 6, 2018) that Israel is not an enemy to the Arab States

President Donald Trump on Monday welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for talks, as both leaders heralded the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Saudi Arabia had granted Air India permission to fly over its territory on its new routes to and from Tel Aviv.

The Israeli newspapers were concerned about the US-Jewish delegation visit to Bahrain on route to the occupied Jerusalem in a religious trip, for the signs the visit holds in terms of Bahraini authorities’ openness to consolidate relations with Israel.

A prominent US rabbi said on Wednesday (February 28, 2018) that the Muslim-majority Persian Gulf kingdoms are waiting for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a "bold and courageous" gesture to kick off the process of forging diplomatic ties with Israel.

Guatemala will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in May, two days after the U.S. embassy makes the same move, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said on Sunday at a conference in Washington.

Rabbi Marc Schneier led 17 congregants on a three-day trip to Bahrain this week- believed to be the first such Jewish congregational mission to any Arab Gulf state.

A synagogue delegation organized a trip to Bahrain and occupied Palestine on February 25th, in first visit of its kind to a Gulf state.

Since a December visit by a delegation from Bahrain to Israel ties have been warming between states that are officially enemies, reported the Middle East Eye (MEE), noting that “they have more in common than it seems”.

An Israeli cabinet minister voiced hope on Friday that Saudi Arabia would allow Air India to fly to and from Tel Aviv through Saudi airspace.

Israeli Minister of Communication Ayoob Kara claimed on Sunday (February 4, 2018) that one of the member of the Bahraini ruling family, Mubarak Al Khalifa, was visiting Israel, according to Middle East Monitor.

Middle East Monitor website said that some 25 Bahraini organizations including political associations, civil society groups and various intellectual and political trends have come together to condemn a visit by what they called a “suspicious” delegation to Israel.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, deemed the US president’s move recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital a "side issue".

The delegation of the Bahraini Association to Resist Normalization has concluded its visit to Lebanon, during which the delegation visited the Palestinian refugee camps in the Sabra and Shatila area, in an affirmation of the Bahraini people’s support the Palestinian cause.

A member of Bahrain's ruling family denied the authenticity of a report aired by an Arab channel about his contribution to the production of works of art for Israelis and the printing of a manual to promote such works.

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society in Bahrain announced on Sunday (December 10, 2017) its categorical rejection and strong condemnation of the arrival of a Bahraini government delegation to the city of Jerusalem.

The second channel on Israeli television said on Saturday (December 9, 2017) that an official delegation from Bahrain comprising 24 persons began a four-day official visit to Israel.