On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, said that the Kingdom and Israel are getting closer and closer to normalization "every day."
The official also clarified that the Palestinian issue is still a "very important" component of the normalization process between the two nations. The crown prince's remarks represented rare public remarks made in English by the leader concerning the country's stances.
Saudi Arabia-Israel Normalization
The crown prince's statement also came a few hours after United States President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the issue during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, known colloquially as MBS, commented when Fox News was interviewing him. The media outlet also released several brief segments of the conversation that will air in full on Wednesday evening, per the Times of Israel.
Additionally, the crown prince has long been seen as less hostile to Israel than his father, King Salman. Last year, he said that they were not looking at Israel as an enemy but rather as a potential ally with many interests they can pursue together.
However, the crown prince noted that they still have to solve some issues between the two regions before such a situation can happen. The de facto ruler's statement seemed to refer to the Palestinians.
The situation came as a senior Biden administration official who briefed reporters after the Biden-Netanyahu meeting on Wednesday said that the Israeli leader also understood the importance of the Palestinian issue in the normalization talks.
Currently, Saudi Arabia is discussing a major agreement with the American government regarding normalizing relations with Israel. According to Yahoo News, this would come in exchange for a US defense pact and aid in developing the Kingdom's civilian nuclear program.
Treatment of Palestinians
Saudi Arabian officials have argued that any deal would require major progress toward creating a Palestinian state, which is a difficult demand for the most religious and nationalist government in the history of Israel.
During the meeting with Netanyahu, Biden reportedly raised concerns regarding the far-right Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. He was said to have urged the Israeli prime minister to take more steps to improve West Bank conditions during heightened violence in the occupied territory.
Talks about normalizing relations come as American officials privately touted the potential benefits of a regional mega-deal. Achieving such an agreement would be considered a foreign policy win as the Democratic US president seeks re-election in the November 2024 elections.
The de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia added that if Iran gets its hand on a nuclear weapon, then his country should also "have to get one." The Kingdom, along with Israel, has been an adversary of Iran. Fortunately, relations have improved since Riyadh and Tehran agreed in March to restore diplomatic relations, said Aljazeera.
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