Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon shook hands Saturday with Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, chairman of the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, during a security conference in Munich, Germany.
The two men took part in a panel discussion on the issue of stability in the Middle East, in which the Turkish foreign minister and Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesmen were also scheduled to take part, among others.
However, Friday it was decided to split the panel into two, thereby including Ayalon in the same group with American and Russian representatives. Members of Ayalon's delegation later said the Saudi prince refused to sit in the same panel with the Israeli deputy minister.
Ayalon, who objected to the decision to split the panel, turned to the Saudi prince, who was sitting in the crowd, during the session and said it was a pity that he refused to sit next to him. Ayalon's office said that Prince al-Faisal stood up, said he did not object to it, and shook the deputy minister's hand.
During the session, Ayalon stressed that peace is important to Israel not just for strategic reasons, but also as a moral obligation. He added that the Middle East was facing two threats: A domestic threat of poverty and socioeconomic difficulties that prompt radicalization in Arab states, and the external threat from Iran.
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