Saudi Arabia shuts door on normalization under Netanyahu’s current government - report
The official said Saudi Arabia wanted Israel’s next government, whoever leads it, to be willing to negotiate a resolution to the Palestinian conflict
Saudi Arabia sees no prospect of establishing diplomatic relations with Israel while Benjamin Netanyahu governs with his current coalition, an official familiar with Riyadh’s position told Kan on Thursday.
The kingdom has not publicly responded to the Israeli election results. But the official said Netanyahu’s policies run counter to Saudi Arabia’s demand for progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution.
“Saudi Arabia wants peace, wants to negotiate,” the official said, adding that Netanyahu did not share Riyadh’s approach to settling the conflict.
The objection concerns policy rather than Netanyahu personally, according to the official, who accused the prime minister of pursuing escalation. The official nevertheless stressed that Saudi Arabia had no preferred candidate to lead Israel, describing that choice as an internal Israeli matter.
For Riyadh, the Palestinian issue remains central to any normalization agreement. Potential cooperation on other regional challenges, including the Houthis in Yemen, would not replace that requirement.
The official said Saudi Arabia wanted Israel’s next government, whoever leads it, to be willing to negotiate a resolution to the longstanding conflict.
The remarks follow reports that Saudi Arabia encouraged Israeli Arab parties to unite ahead of the election. According to those reports, Riyadh discussed the effort with regional partners, with support from Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
Saudi officials reportedly believed a unified Arab list could influence the composition of Israel’s next coalition and improve the prospects for a government more open to compromise on the Palestinian issue and regional tensions.