Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without Palestinian state, says Crown Prince
By Reuters
September 18, 20243:38 PM UTCUpdated agoItem
1 of 2 Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house,
amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip,
September 16, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
[1/2]Palestinians
inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the Israel-Hamas
conflict, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, September 16, 2024.
REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights DUBAI,
Sept 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday
said the kingdom would not recognise Israel without a Palestinian state
and strongly condemned the "crimes of the Israeli occupation" against
the Palestinian people.
"The
kingdom will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and
we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with
Israel without that," the crown prince, known as MbS, said.
After
the eruption of war last October between Israel and the militant
Palestinian group Hamas that rules Gaza, Saudi Arabia put on ice
U.S.-backed plans for the kingdom to normalise ties with Israel, two
sources familiar with Riyadh's thinking said earlier this year, in a
swift reordering of its diplomatic priorities.
MbS, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, had said just weeks before the fighting broke out that Riyadh was getting
closer to a deal.
The
two sources told Reuters there would be some delay in the U.S.-backed
talks on normalisation of Saudi-Israel ties, which is seen as a key step
for the kingdom to secure what it considers the real prize of a U.S.
defence pact in exchange.
MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman.
The council swore an oath of office before MbS on Wednesday before he addressed it.
Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Nadine Awadalla; Writing by Yousef Saba; Editing by Jon Boyle and Alex Richardson