Saudi, Syrian activists visit Knessset to discuss establishing diplomatic ties with Israel

Martini mentioned that Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah paved the way for Syria’s successful coup.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A Syrian and Saudi political activist visited the Knesset on Thursday for what was described as a “once-in-a-century” opportunity to discuss the possibility of normalizing ties with Israel.

Syrian businessman and political activist Shadi Martini, along with Saudi journalist Abdulaziz al-Khamis, spoke at the first meeting of the Knesset lobby aimed at approaching normalization with Arab countries, building on the 2020 Abraham Accords.

The Lobby for Advancing a Regional Security Arrangement, founded by opposition MKs Ram Ben Barak, Gilad Kariv, and Alon Schuster, convened the meeting to coincide with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington.

Martini, who escaped Syria when the brutal civil war began in 2012, described his “interesting” meeting with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaaa, which included representatives of various faiths.

“I was with two other colleagues, one of whom is a priest and one of whom is a rabbi… We entered the presidential palace in Damascus. I really appreciated that meeting. It went on for two hours, and the topic of Israel was dominant,” he said.

Regarding the current meeting, Martini said, “We only have these opportunities one time every 100 years; it’s a very unique opportunity, but the window will not always stay open.”

He mentioned that Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah paved the way for Syria’s successful coup.

“For Syrians, we were very happy with what Israel did, we appreciated it,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that Syrian officials and the public are troubled by Israel’s military operations in the country that don’t seem to have an endgame.

“Israel needs to explain what the end game here is,” he said, adding that Israeli operations were interfering with Syrian farmers’ access to their land. “We need to understand.”

Al-Khamis emphasized that a resolution to the situation in Gaza was essential to any normalization agreement.

“No state can expect to be impressed when our people next door are encaged and disenfranchised,” he said. “Normalization from Saudi Arabia’s perspective is not merely a dual agreement; it’s a regional realignment, and such realignment must include a credible and tangible path to Palestinian sovereignty.”

Netanyahu has repeated the refusal to establish a Palestinian State.

At a White House meeting with President Donald Trump last week, Netanyahu said, “We will work out a peace with our Palestinian neighbors, those who don’t want to destroy us and we will work out a peace in which our security, the sovereign power of security, always remains in our hands.”

KnessetNormalizationSaudi ArabiaSyria