The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has said that relations with Israel cannot be normalized without a solution to the Palestinian issue.
Prince Faisal’s statement came during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria recorded on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held last week in Davos, Switzerland, and aired on Sunday, January 21.
In response to a question about the impossibility of establishing normal relations without a path leading to a viable Palestinian state, the Saudi minister said, “This is the only way to achieve this. So, yes, because we need stability.”
He added, “Stability will only be achieved by resolving the Palestinian issue.”
“For the region to witness real peace and stability, and real integration that brings economic and social benefits to all of us, including Israel, it is necessary to undertake a credible and irreversible process to establish the State of Palestine.”
“We need to focus on a solution for the Palestinian issue. We are very focused on de-escalation in Gaza,” Prince Faisal said.
He added, “What we are seeing is the Israelis are crushing Gaza, the civilian population of Gaza. This is completely unnecessary, completely unacceptable and has to stop.”
Since October 7, 2023, at least 25,105 Palestinians, primarily women and children, have been killed and 62,681 others injured.
