Netanyahu rejects Saudi demand for Palestinian state

Shafaq News/ On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Saudi Arabia’s condition of Palestinian statehood before normalization with Israel.

Netanyahu stated to Israeli Channel 14 that “the Saudis can establish a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have plenty of land there,” according to The Jerusalem Post.

The remarks follow Riyadh’s insistence that recognition of Israel hinges on the "establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital." In a statement Wednesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry reaffirmed that “the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel unless this condition is met.”

The statement came after Netanyahu’s optimistic assertion that peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia was “not only possible, but I believe it will happen.”

Notably, Saudi Arabia does not formally recognize Israel but has been engaged in indirect negotiations over normalization since 2020, which have advanced in exchange for a proposed US-Saudi defense pact and Washington’s support for a Saudi civilian nuclear program.

Netanyahu made his remarks at the White House alongside US President Donald Trump, whose administration brokered the 2020 Abraham Accords, leading to normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain.