Saudi Arabia: Palestinian statehood is a prerequisite for ties with Israel

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that while normalization with Israel is a regional interest, “it will only come through giving the Palestinians hope.”

By World Israel News Staff

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister on Thursday said that the creation of a Palestinian state would be a precondition in establishing formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

“We have said consistently that we believe normalization with Israel is something that is very much in the interest of the region,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan told Bloomberg TV from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said.

“However true normalization and true stability will only come through giving the Palestinians hope, through giving the Palestinians dignity,” he went on.

“That requires giving the Palestinians a state, and that’s the priority,” the top Saudi diplomat said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes to reach a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia that would “effectively end the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

On Thursday, Netanyahu met with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem to discuss, among other things, “the next steps to deepen the Abraham Accords and expand the circle of peace, with an emphasis on a breakthrough with Saudi Arabia,” according to a readout from the prime minister’s office.

In his remarks at the WEC on Wednesday, Prince Faisal called on Israel’s new government to focus on resolving the conflict with the Palestinians.