RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has communicated to the United States its position that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem and Israel’s “aggression” in the Gaza Strip stops, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. declaration.
On Tuesday, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration had received positive feedback that Saudi Arabia and Israel were willing to continue normalization discussions.
The kingdom said it would reaffirm Washington’s steadfast stance on the Palestinian issue in light of the comments attributed to Kirby, the ministry said.
The idea of formally cementing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia has been mooted since the Saudis gave their tacit approval to the Gulf Arab Emirates and Bahrain to establish ties with Israel in 2020.
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Saudi Arabia put plans to normalize relations with US-backed Israel on ice, sources familiar with Riyadh’s thinking told Reuters in October 2023, as the war between Hamas and Israeli forces escalated.
