Prince Faisal bin Farhan suppresses speculation that Saudi Arabia could establish full diplomatic relations with Israel.
Rome, Italy – The Saudi Foreign Minister said Saudi Arabia would only normalize relations with Israel under a plan that would provide the Palestinians with a sovereign state and quell speculation that the kingdom may soon be the youngest Arab country, the full one build diplomatic relations with Israel.
“What we have to do [normalisation of ties with Israel] It is a peace agreement that gives a Palestinian state dignity and a functioning sovereignty that the Palestinians can accept, ”said Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Friday.
Prince Faisal gave a talk at Med2020, an annual international forum that takes place every year in the Italian capital of Rome and brings together world leaders.
He said Saudi Arabia had envisaged normalizing relations with Israel in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
“This agreement should be negotiated, but now it is important to bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table in order to work towards a fair deal,” said Prince Faisal.
The so-called Abraham Accords were signed in September to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
The agreements brokered by the administration of US President Donald Trump included a freeze on Israel on the planned annexation of Palestinian land.
Palestinian officials condemned normalization as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people”.
Prince Faisal said normalizing relations with Israel has long been part of Saudi Arabia’s vision.
“It was first put on the table in Fez in 1982 by then Crown Prince Fahad,” he said.
“We still have the same vision that Israel will become a normal part of the region with perfectly normal relations with its neighbors. What we need to do to achieve this is the delivery of one [Palestinian] Status.”
The two-state solution exactly mirrors the Arab peace initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002. The initiative called for normalized relations between Israel and other Arab states in exchange for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the territories occupied in the 1967 war. including the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The initiative was re-approved by the Arab League over the years but never implemented as Israel continued its occupation and settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Qatar’s position
Just hours earlier, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also shared Qatar’s view on the Abraham Accords on the Med2020 platform, saying Qatar does not see them as aid to the Palestinian cause.
Al Thani said the Palestinian issue must be at the center of a normalization agreement between Qatar and Israel.
“If there are opportunities for peace based on a just solution to the Palestinian question, there will be [Palestinian] According to the Arab peace initiative, the sovereign independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital will accompany Qatar along with other countries in the region, ”said the minister.
“At the moment, I don’t see that normalizing Qatar-Israel relations will add any added value to the Palestinian question.”
Al Thani said Qatar has a “working relationship” with Israel to facilitate the provision of aid and development aid to the Palestinian people.
“This relationship is sufficient for the time being to help our brothers in Palestine.”
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