IN BRIEF (Page 12)

ISRAEL

Saudi ex-official makes rare visit

Israel's Foreign Ministry says a senior official has met with a visiting former military general from Saudi Arabia. The meeting marks a rare public engagement between countries that have no official relations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon says Sunday that Director General Dore Gold met with Anwar Eshki at a Jerusalem hotel. Eshki currently heads a Saudi think tank in Jeddah but is believed to have close ties with the kingdom's rulers. Official government permission was likely necessary for him to make such an overt visit.