Saudi Arabia Links Normalization to Palestinian Issue, Not Netanyahu

Saudi Arabia believes that as long as Benjamin Netanyahu serves as Prime Minister with the current coalition, normalization of relations with Israel is not on the table, a source familiar with the Kingdom's position told Kan News on Thursday. The source stated that Saudi Arabia desires peace, negotiations, and a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution, but sees Netanyahu as an obstacle. While Saudi Arabia has no personal issue with Netanyahu, his policies, in their view, prevent progress in bilateral relations. "Netanyahu, in our view, only wants to create problems. He doesn't want peace, but escalation," the source added. These remarks come as Riyadh has not yet officially commented on the Israeli election results. The Saudi source emphasized that the Kingdom is not interested in the identity of Israel's prime minister, considering it an internal Israeli matter. However, they indicated that the next prime minister should strive to resolve the Palestinian issue. Saudi Arabia insists on linking normalization to the Palestinian issue rather than other matters, such as Israeli involvement in the conflict with the Houthis in Yemen. "What is important for us is that whoever it is, he wants to conduct negotiations and solve the problems that have persisted for seventy years," the source concluded.