'If Israel accepts the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Saudi Arabia can discuss normalizing relations'

Saudi Arabian Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former head of Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency, warned that there will be no normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established.

Saudi Arabian Prince Turki Al-Faisal speaks at the London-based think tank Chatham House on September 14. (Source: Chatham House)

According to Saudi Arabia's Arab News , in a talk at the London-based Chatham House think tank on September 14, Mr. Turki assessed the role of the US in the process of peacemaking between Saudi Arabia and Israel, in the context of the nearly year-long war in the Gaza Strip becoming increasingly complicated.

Mr. Turki said that Washington wants to resume negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia to strengthen regional security and establish economic ties. However, Riyadh's position is that "if Israel accepts the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Saudi Arabia can discuss normalizing relations with Israel."

"Before October 7, 2023, negotiations were progressing. Saudi Arabia even invited a Palestinian delegation to discuss directly with the Americans what a Palestinian state could look like. Unfortunately, the Gaza conflict put an end to those negotiations," Turki said.

Prince Turki stressed that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is important not only for Israel-Saudi Arabia relations but also for the rest of the Muslim world.

"A Palestinian state is a prerequisite for Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, but on the Israeli side, the entire government says there is no Palestinian state," he said.

According to Mr. Turki, Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the 1981 Peace Plan and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

Regarding the Gaza war, Mr. Turki criticized the US and other Western countries for not putting more pressure on Israel to end the war.

"The US has many tools to influence Israel that it does not use, not simply refusing to provide weapons and raw materials to Israel," he stressed.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/neu-israel-accepts-the-establishment-of-the-independent-palestine-state-saudi-arabia-co-the-ban-ve-vec-binh-thuong-hoa-quan-he-286393.html