Israel: Netanyahu, Lapid talk normalization with Saudi Arabia in Knesset

Israel’s incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday told the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, that one of the main tasks for his new government is to “expand the circle of peace” with Arab countries. 

“The third task is to continue to expand the circle of peace with Arab countries in order to put an end to the Israel-Arab conflict,” Netanyahu said, most likely referring to Saudi Arabia as Jerusalem has been trying to normalize ties with the Gulf state, which doesn’t have official diplomatic relations with Israel.  

The outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who now becomes the Opposition Leader, in his speech responded by saying that it was his government that made progress in the normalization of ties with Riyadh. 

 “If the incoming government continues on the path that we have paved, we will reach an agreement with the Saudis in no time,” Lapid said, also mentioning the strengthening of the Abraham Accords under his term as prime minister. 

As i24NEWS previously reported, Saudi Arabia was looking to normalize ties with Israel, with senior diplomatic sources saying it was just a “matter of time.” Last week, Netanyahu said in an interview that Israeli-Saudi normalization would mean peace with the Arab world and Palestinians.

Israel's longest-serving leader returned to power as his far-right coalition government is being sworn in on Thursday. His political comeback is surrounded with concerns over possible discrimination against minorities and escalation of security threats, including the Iranian nuclear program, which Netanyahu named as his government’s “first task.”