Reuters Reports: Riyadh’s Condition for Normalizing Relations with Israel
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and the newspaper Al-Akhbar, Gulf sources informed Reuters that Riyadh has communicated through diplomatic channels to Washington that it will only agree to normalize ties with Israel if a clear agreement on establishing a Palestinian state is reached.
While media sources consider Mohammed bin Salman’s upcoming trip crucial in advancing normalization with Israel, these sources added that Riyadh aims to avoid any diplomatic missteps and seeks assurance of aligned positions between Saudi Arabia and the United States before making any public statements.
The news agency also quoted Jonathan Panikoff,former Deputy National Intelligence Manager for Middle East Affairs at the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, saying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not agree to normalize relations with Israel in the near future without a reliable path toward creating a Palestinian state.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Saudi Arabia earlier this month.This marked his first trip since the 2018 killing of Saudi-American journalist jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
