In this photo released by Al-Ekhbariya, Saudi King Salman, right, receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after he arrives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Al-Ekhbariya via AP)
Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi’s appointment was hailed as a “diplomatic and historic victory.”
By World Israel News Staff
Saudi Arabia has appointed its first ambassador to the “State of Palestine,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday, even amid talks that the Gulf kingdom will ink a U.S.-brokered normalization agreement with Israel in the coming months.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Diplomatic Affairs Advisor, Majdi al-Khalidi, formally accepted Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi’s credentials in a ceremony held at the Palestinian Embassy in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
Al-Sudairi will simultaneously hold his position as the “Consul-General in Jerusalem” and continue his ambassadorial duties in Jordan. Expressing his gratitude on Twitter, Al-Sudairi underscored the significance of this appointment in “strengthening the strong brotherly relations” between Saudi Arabia and “the State of Palestine.”
The move comes amid tensions where Palestinian officials felt sidelined over ongoing negotiations regarding a potential normalization deal, and the ambassadorial appointment appears to address some of these apprehensions.
Al-Khalidi took to Twitter to emphasize the “enduring bond between the two nations” and praised Saudi Arabia’s unwavering support for the Palestinians.
A senior Palestinian official, meanwhile, hailed his appointment as a “diplomatic and historic victory.”
While Saudi Arabia has tacitly acknowledged the Abraham Accords, which fostered Israel’s ties with UAE and Bahrain, the kingdom’s formal relationship with Israel remains a topic of regional intrigue.
Riyadh has for months pressed the Biden administration to back Saudi plans for a civilian atomic program, in exchange for the Gulf kingdom’s normalization of relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabia has long sought to utilize its extensive uranium reserves for a civilian nuclear program.
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