In an interview with Al Arabiya, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said that a peace accord with Saudi Arabia would end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Netanyahu stated that extending the progress gained in the 2020 Abraham Accords to other Arab states would be a more successful route to peace than directly engaging with Palestinian officials, who he claimed were unwilling to recognize Israel.
“Peace with Saudi Arabia will be a quantum leap for peace between Israel and the Arab world, and it will reshape our area in inconceivable ways,” he stated.
“I think it will assist Palestinian-Israeli peace.” I do. I’ll do it.”
Netanyahu blamed Palestinians for the peace failure.
“We haven’t got Israeli-Palestinian peace because Palestinian leaders have refused to recognize that Israel is here to stay for a century.”
Benjamin Netanyahu said reconciliation with Riyadh “depends on Saudi leadership.”
Saudi Arabia proposed Arab-Israeli peace in 2002 if Israel ended its colonization of Arab lands. However, Netanyahu avoided committing to the details of the program when asked about it.
He added it “indicates a desire to end the conflict in all its dimensions, but 20 years later, we need a fresh approach.”
Saudi Arabia is a major supporter of the Palestinian cause and has said it needs a Palestinian state before normalizing relations with Israel.
Riyadh hasn’t commented on the Abraham Accords, but relations have thawed.
Former Saudi Ambassador to the US Bandar bin Sultan told Al Arabiya in Oct 2020, “The Palestinian cause is just, but its champions are failures.” The Israeli cause is unjust, but its supporters are successful.
