Saudi Arabia: No normalization with Israel until peace with Palestinians
Image by Getty images
(JTA) — The king of Saudi Arabia has thrown cold water on the assurances of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump who is leading Middle East policy, that all Arab countries will follow the United Arab Emirates’ lead and normalize ties with Israel.
Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz said his country would not pursue normalization with Israel until there is peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
The king told Trump in a phone call Sunday that his kingdom appreciates efforts made by the United States to bring about peace but that Saudi Arabia would like to see a peace treaty based on the Arab Peace Initiative, which was proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
The conversation comes on the heels of the U.S.-brokered normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and Trump’s announcement Friday that Israel and the Muslim-majority Kosovo would establish diplomatic relations.
Saudi Arabia opened up its air space to allow an airplane carrying Israeli and U.S. diplomats to fly through its airspace, offering some hope that it might be open to changing its relationship with Israel. The kingdom later announced that it would allow any airplane from any country arriving or departing from the UAE to use its airspace.
The post Saudi Arabia’s king tells Trump his country will not pursue normalization with Israel until there is peace with Palestinians appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
