At the Munich Security Conference in February 2010, he initially refused to sit next to Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon because of Ayalon's "boorish" behavior toward the Turkish ambassador on Israeli television. In response to Ayalon's comment that Saudi Arabia had not "given a penny" to the Palestinian Authority, Prince Turki claimed that it had given more than $500 million over the past five years. Ayalon apologized and shook hands with Prince Turki as a reconciliation measure. The crowd applauded. Turki clarified that this gesture did not signal any change in official policy towards Israel.