S/Arabia may recognise Israel if Palestinian issue resolved – FM

Asked if Saudi Arabia would then recognise Israel as part of a wider political agreement, he said: “Certainly.”

Prince Faisal said securing regional peace through the creation of a Palestinian state was “something we have been indeed working on with the U.S. administration, and it is more relevant in the context of Gaza”.

The Sunni Muslim kingdom, the most powerful country in the Arab world, wields considerable religious clout across the globe.

After the eruption of war last October between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas that rules Gaza, Saudi Arabia put on ice U.S.-backed plans for it to normalise ties with Israel, two sources familiar with Riyadh’s thinking said, in a swift reordering of of its diplomatic priorities.

The two sources told Reuters there would be delay in the U.S.-backed talks on normalisation of Saudi-Israel ties.

The talk is seen as a key step for the kingdom to secure what it considers the real prize of a U.S. defence pact in exchange.

Before Oct. 7, both Saudi and Israeli leaders had signalled they were moving steadily towards establishing diplomatic relations. This could have reshaped the Middle East.

The Palestinians want a state in territories captured by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as their capital.

But the U.S.-sponsored negotiations with Israel on achieving that stalled more than a decade ago.

“There is a pathway towards better future for the region, for Palestinians and for Israel. That is peace and we are fully committed to that,” said Prince Faisal.

“… a ceasefire on all sides should be a starting point for permanent sustainable peace. And this can only happen through justice to the Palestinian people.”

Israel’s hard-right government has played down the prospect of it making significant concessions to the Palestinians as part of any potential normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)