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Saudi Arabia‘s foreign minister has denied media reports of a possible meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid speculation about normalising ties between Gulf Arab states and Israel.
Vast wealth and the promise of dramatic change make for cautious optimism concerning Saudi Arabia, the chief executive…
2236 Views | the publication reaches you by | Saudi Arabia Today“There is no meeting planned between Saudi Arabia and Israel,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya English website on Thursday in response to reports in Israeli media.
“Saudi Arabia’s policy has been very clear since the beginning of this conflict. There are no relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and the Kingdom stands firmly behind Palestine.”
The two countries’ interest in containing Iran have increasingly converged with both viewing Tehran as a main threat, but Saudi Arabia maintains that any relations hinge on Israel’s withdrawal from lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war, territory Palestinians seek for a future state.
Netanyahu appeared last month at a White House event where US President Donald Trump offered a plan that proposed creating a Palestinian entity but diverged from a 2002 Saudi initiative.
But some Gulf Arab states welcomed the US efforts in a move viewed as prioritising close ties with Washington vital to countering Iran over historic unswerving support for the Palestinians.
In 2017, an Israeli cabinet minister said the country had covert contacts with Riyadh, and Israel Radio reported that Prince Mohammed had met with officials in Israel, drawing an official Saudi denial.
The longest-serving Israeli prime minister met Sudan’s leader last week during a visit to Uganda.
Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia had always shown a willingness to normalise ties with Israel provided there is “a just and fair settlement” agreed by Israel and the Palestinians.
“Short of that, Saudi policy will remain steadfast,” he added.
150 take part through Watani Al Emarat via the ‘Your City Needs You’ initiative Over 150 volunteers –…
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The Arab states of the Persian Gulf are the seven Arab states which border the Persian Gulf, namely Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).This excludes the non-Arab state of Iran. All of these nations except Iraq are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
