Saudis slam door on Israel ties without Palestinian state
Riyadh rules out normalisation while Gaza burns, insisting statehood is the only path to peace
Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed it will not normalise ties with Israel unless a sovereign Palestinian state is established, delivering a fresh blow to Western hopes of regional peace amid the ongoing Gaza war.
Speaking at the United Nations on Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan made clear: “For the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, normalisation with Israel can only come through the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
That position, he said, was “based on a strong conviction that only through the establishment of a Palestinian state and only through addressing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination can we have sustainable peace and real integration in the region.”
Bin Farhan’s comments came just days after France announced it would recognise Palestinian statehood in September – ramping up pressure on Israel’s allies to follow suit.
Efforts by former US President Donald Trump to bring Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords now appear increasingly uncertain. Asked about normalisation prospects, the foreign minister pointed to the war in Gaza as an insurmountable barrier: “There is no credibility to have a conversation about normalisation with constant death and suffering and destruction in Gaza.”
Trump, standing alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a press event at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, blamed Hamas for the worsening humanitarian crisis, while announcing plans to coordinate a new food initiative for Gaza with European partners.
“We’ve given a lot of money to Gaza for food and everything else,” Trump said. “A lot of that money is stolen by Hamas, and a lot of the food is stolen.”
Although he stopped short of announcing immediate UK recognition of Palestine, pressure is intensifying on the Labour leader after France’s unexpected move. A cross-party letter signed by 221 MPs is urging Downing Street to act, while Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is said to be leading to a growing cabinet rebellion over what colleagues see as Starmer’s “weak” Gaza policy.
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