Israelis who visited Yemen wind up their visit, did not meet with Yemeni officials

The delegation of the Israelis who are of Yemeni descent on Wednesday ended visit to Yemen and claimed it had met with Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Iryani.

A source close to the delegation said that the 12-member delegation came to Yemen carrying temporary passports given to them by the Yemeni mission at the UN, and not Israeli passports.

The source said the group, which included one Rabbi, one journalist and two researchers, left Sanaa airport on board a flight of the Jordanian Royal Airlines.

Meanwhile, a source at the Yemeni Cabinet denied that the Israelis had met with any Yemeni official, stressing that those Israelis are visiting Yemen "for the sake of tourism like others of Jews of Yemeni origin."

He indicated that, "The Jewish tourists of Yemeni origin who visit Yemen are not permitted to visit Yemen if they carry Israeli passports or other passports having on it Israeli visas."

Sources close to the delegation reported that the delegation also asked to meet with other Yemeni figures, including the speaker of the parliament and the chairman of the Yemeni coalition for reforms, Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar, but received no answer.