Jerusalem – The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s “sincere fraternal stance” towards Palestinian people.
In a statement, the Palestinian foreign ministry said that “under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the Kingdom is supportive of the Palestinian people, their just cause and their rights at all levels.”
The statement acknowledged the full Saudi support for the right of the Palestinian people in determining their own destiny, and establishing their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.”
Earlier on Friday, Saudi Arabia said it will not normalize ties with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
The comments by Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed normalization with Saudi Arabia in talks with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem on Thursday.
“True normalization and true stability will only come through… giving the Palestinians a state,” Prince Faisal told Bloomberg at the summit.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is a close partner of the United States but it has repeatedly refused to normalize ties with US-ally Israel due to its occupation of Palestinian territories.
The US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020 saw the kingdom’s neighbors — the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.
Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed his desire to see Saudi Arabia join the list.