AFP, Riyadh
Saudi Arabia has agreed to permit UAE flights to "all countries" to overfly the kingdom, as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu signalled more direct flights linking the UAE with the Jewish state.

The announcement comes after the first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi on Monday, which passed through Saudi airspace, to mark the normalisation of Israel-UAE ties.

Riyadh's decision marks another concrete sign of Saudi Arabia's cooperation with Israel even after it refused publicly to follow the UAE in establishing diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan insisted that Wednesday's decision does not change the kingdom's "firm and established" position towards the Palestinian issue.

But the kingdom has cultivated clandestine relations with Israel in recent years based on a shared animosity towards Iran.

This is not the first time the kingdom has opened its airspace for Israel-bound flights. In March 2018, Air India launched the first scheduled service to Israel that was allowed to cross Saudi airspace.