In another sign of warming ties, Israel congratulates Saudis on National Day

“Peace and good neighborliness,” Israel’s foreign ministry gushed in an Arabic-language post.

By World Israel News Staff

In a another gesture highlighting warming relations, Israel commemorated Saudi Arabia’s National Day this Saturday, extending “sincere congratulations and blessings” to the kingdom.

“We extend our sincere congratulations and blessings to the king, government, and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the 93rd National Day,” the Foreign Ministry conveyed through its Arabic account on the social media platform X.

“May God bring you goodness and blessings in the light of security, safety, and prosperity, with our wishes that an atmosphere of peace, cooperation, and good neighborliness will prevail.”

Saudi National Day is a significant event that marks the establishment of the modern Saudi kingdom in 1932. Israel’s acknowledgment of this day comes at a time when discussions about potential normalization of relations between the two nations are intensifying.

This message of goodwill follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement at the United Nations General Assembly, where he shared optimistic insights regarding the forging of peace with Saudi Arabia, declaring, “Such a peace will go a long way to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict. It will encourage other Arab states to normalize their relations with Israel. It will enhance the prospects of peace with the Palestinians. It will encourage a broader reconciliation between Judaism and Islam, between Jerusalem and Mecca, between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael.”

“All these are tremendous blessings,” Netanyahu added.

In a series of interviews later on Friday, Netanyahu extolled the virtues of a peace deal.

During an interview with Fox News, the Prime Minister mentioned that the prospect for achieving a normalization deal remains open in the coming months, albeit with “major issues” surrounding Riyadh’s uranium enrichment proposal. “I think that we have a window of opportunity, it’s the next few months. If we don’t achieve it in the next few months, we might delay it by quite a few years,” Netanyahu said.

In his own speech to the UN on Saturday, however, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan emphasized the need for Palestinian statehood.

“The stability of the region rests on a just and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian cause… and the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” bin Farhan said.

Abraham AccordsBiden AdministrationIsrael-Saudi relationsIsraeli-Palestinian peace negotiationsnormalization of tiesUS Mideast policy