Hawzah News Agency - (Jeddah - Saudi Arabia) - Israeli Interior Ministry Arye Dery signed a directive on Wednesday permitting Israelis to visit Saudi Arabia for the first time in the country’s history, Israeli media reported.

The decision was announced on Sunday and was made in coordination with the Israeli defense establishment, Haaretz reported, citing a statement from the interior ministry.

The ministry will allow travel to Saudi Arabia when it is for the purposes of religious rituals during the Islamic pilgrimages known as the Hajj and the Umrah, or for a business trip limited for up to 90 days, the daily added.

It noted, meanwhile, that this is conditioned on the person having an invitation from a Saudi official, and is pending no other warrants that may prevent them from entering Saudi Arabia.

Sources familiar with the decision told Haaretz the directive had been signed last Wednesday, culminating a process that has “been brewing for many weeks.”