Riyadh: Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal has ruled any possibility of normalisation with Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, labelling him a “war criminal” and a “genocidal maniac.”
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on August 15, Al-Faisal said the Kingdom cannot engage with a leader who promotes expansionist ambitions while disregarding peace efforts.
He highlighted the Arab Peace Initiative and a Saudi-French proposal for Gaza, which call for a governing authority under the Palestinian Authority, civilian reconstruction, and long-term stability. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” he said.
Al-Faisal also criticised Netanyahu’s vision of a “Greater Israel,” accusing him of displaying maps stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. “Is he proposing to occupy Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt?” he asked.
His remarks followed Netanyahu’s claim that he was on a “spiritual mission” to achieve Greater Israel, sparking condemnation across the Arab world and beyond.
Saudi Arabia maintains it will not move towards normalisation without a two-state solution based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
The number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has risen to 61,897, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said on Saturday, August 16.
