Saudi Arabia has conveyed to the United States its firm stance that the kingdom will not normalize diplomatic relations with Israel without Palestinian independence. The government of King Salman stated its readiness to normalize ties only if Palestine achieves statehood and if Israel ceases its "aggression" in the Gaza Strip.
This assertion of Saudi Arabia's position comes in response to White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby's statement that the US administration has received positive responses regarding normalization. Kirby mentioned that both Saudi Arabia and Israel are willing to continue discussions on normalization.
Discussions regarding normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel have garnered attention following Zionist forces' aggression against Palestine on October 7. Throughout the aggression, the Israeli military targeted civilians and civilian facilities, including refugee camps and hospitals.
To date, over 27,000 lives have been lost in Palestine, with tens of thousands of homes destroyed as a result of the aggression.
In the aftermath of the aggression, Saudi Arabia is reported to have postponed discussions on normalization with Israel due to the Zionist forces' aggression.
However, long before this aggression, Saudi Arabia had shown signs of readiness for normalization. In September, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) stated that normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel was becoming closer.
"Every day, we are getting closer," MbS told US media outlet Fox News. During the interview, MbS also emphasized the importance of the Palestinian issue to Saudi Arabia. He expressed Riyadh's government's commitment to addressing this issue.
"We have to see where we are going. We hope this can reach a point, easing the lives of the Palestinian people, making Israel a player in the Middle East," MbS stated, as quoted by Al Jazeera.