Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed envoy to the Palestinian Authority presented his credentials to President Mahmoud Abbas on his first visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday, a move linked to recent US efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The Saudi journey ambassador Nayef al-Sudairi was held as the Minister of Tourism of Israel he was visiting Saudi Arabia for the first time.

In a clear sign that the diplomatic deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia has gained momentum, Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz visited Riyadh on Tuesday with an Israeli delegation to participate in a conference he is hosting the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Katz’s office described his visit as unprecedented for an Israeli minister and said he would hold talks with officials from across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, al-Sudairi’s visit to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, is widely seen as an attempt by Saudi Arabia to address the key obstacle to the Saudi-Israeli normalization deal: Saudi Arabia’s attitude toward the Palestinians. The Saudi government has said it will normalize ties with Israel only if there is significant progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.