Netanyahu: If I’m prime minister, I will sign a peace deal with Saudi Arabia

The former prime minister also thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his role in the Abraham Accords. 

By Debbie Reiss, World Israel News

Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday pledged to sign a peace deal with Saudi Arabia if he becomes prime minister of Israel. He also thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his role in the normalization accords between Israel and Muslim Arab states.

Netanyahu made his remarks in a self-styled “policy statement” to kick off his election campaign.

“If I am once again elected by you to lead the State of Israel, I plan on signing a comprehensive peace treaty with Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations,” he said.

Doing so “will bring us closer to the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict,” the former prime minister maintained.

He hailed President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East, which includes stops in Jerusalem, the Palestinian territories, and Riyadh.

“This is an important visit because from here, the president will fly to Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu said.

“A direct flight is an expression of the massive change we brought to the Middle East. Our policy has truly created a new Mideast.”

Netanyahu also thanked the Saudi Crown Prince, known as MBS, “for his contribution to the four peace agreements we had forged.”

Netanyahu signed the Trump-led Abraham Accords with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020.

Netanyahu and bin Salman have reportedly met on several occasions, with at least one of them on Saudi soil. In January, the two discussed permission for Israel to use Saudi airspace in return for Israeli spyware. A year earlier, Netanyahu seemed to confirm a visit to the Gulf Kingdom that he had made a few months prior, alongside then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen.

Abraham AccordsBenjamin NetanyahuMiddle Eastnormalization of tiesSaudi Arabia