Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud said in an interview with the Al-Hadath news channel on Sunday that the creation of a Palestinian state is the Kingdom’s precondition for the normalisation of ties with Israel. He added that the Palestinian state should have East Jerusalem as its capital.
Despite its support for the so-called Abraham Accords, which saw four Arab countries normalizing ties with Israel last year, Saudi Arabia has said repeatedly that a Palestinian state must come before it makes such a move.
#SaudiArabia's Foreign Minister @FaisalbinFarhan said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al-Hadath that a #Palestinian state with #EastJerusalem as its capital is a prerequisite for #normalization with #Israel.
https://t.co/Eh3oFQD6Dp
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 31, 2021
Bin Farhan told the Washington Institute for Near East Policy last year that normalization with Israel will take place eventually. “But we also need to have a Palestinian state and we need to have a Palestinian and Israeli peace plan,” he added.
Israeli media, meanwhile, are reporting that the US administration of President Joe Biden is discussing the issue with Saudi Arabia. According to Ynet News, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke about it with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during his visit to Riyadh last month.
The U.S. Air Force says it flew a B-1B strategic bomber over key maritime chokepoints in the Mideast amid ongoing tensions with Iran. Fighter jets from Bahrain, Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia flew alongside the bomber. https://t.co/PqMtB3GETo
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 31, 2021
Bin Salman apparently did not reject a proposal to normalize ties with Israel but listed the steps needed to make the move. These include an improvement in relations between Washington and Riyadh.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
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