RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it will not formalise ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established, after Israel’s prime minister remarked that he thought normalisation with the Gulf kingdom was “going to happen”.
“Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on X.
Both US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden have backed Israel and Saudi Arabia having diplomatic relations.
Riyadh paused tentative talks on the matter early in the Gaza conflict and hardened its rhetoric as the war continued.
The foreign ministry’s statement came swiftly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said establishing formal relations “is not only feasible, I think it’s going to happen”.
His government remains opposed to the internationally backed two-state solution.
Netanyahu was speaking at the White House alongside Trump, whose administration in 2020 brokered accords which saw Israel establish relations with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain.
That raised hopes of a similar deal with Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s richest economy and guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites.
Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel, but since 2020 has been negotiating rapprochement in exchange for a US defence pact and Washington’s help on a civilian nuclear programme.
