Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Saudi Foreign Minister: Normalization with Israel Requires Giving the Palestinians a State
by Andrew Bernard
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud attends a news conference following talks with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2021. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in an interview with Bloomberg Thursday said that normalization between Israel and the kingdom would only come as a result of Palestinian statehood.
“Our approach to Israel, to Israel/Palestine has been consistent,” Faisal said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have said consistently that we believe normalization with Israel is something that is very much in the interest of the region. […] However, true normalization and true stability will only come through giving the Palestinians hope, through giving Palestinians dignity and that requires giving the Palestinians a state.”
In 2002, Saudi Arabia introduced the “Arab Peace Initiative,” an offer to fully normalize relations between Israel and the Arab states in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian state. The 2020 Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, and that were later joined by Morocco, offered hope that Israel might establish ties with Arab countries without resolving the Palestinian conflict.
Faisal’s comments pour a dash of cold water on that notion.
“I think the priority needs to be bringing the Israelis and the Palestinians to the negotiating table in a way that provides a pathway to a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.
Israel’s new government and the Biden administration have said that expanding the Abraham Accords, including to Saudi Arabia, is among their highest priorities.
“There is nothing that would make us happier if, at some point, Saudi Arabia will normalize ties with Israel. It would be great for both countries and the security in the region,” US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said Wednesday. “I don’t think we’re there yet.”
