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By: World Israel News Staff – worldisraelnews.com
A senior Saudi diplomat speaking at the United Nations did not acknowledge the ongoing negotiations regarding a potential normalization agreement between the Gulf Kingdom and Israel, and emphasized instead the creation of an independent Palestinian state as one of his country’s biggest priorities.
“Security in the Middle East region requires the acceleration of… a just, comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, addressing the General Assembly in New York on Saturday.
“The solution must be based on resolutions in the international arena and must bring about a peace that allows [the] Palestinian people to have an independent state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he continued.
In what appeared to be a reference to the creation and expansion of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, bin Farhan added that Saudi Arabia “rejects and condemns all the unilateral steps that constitute a flagrant violation of international law and which contribute to the collapse of regional and international peace efforts and are hindering the path of diplomatic solutions.”
The diplomat did not mention Palestinian terrorism, widespread corruption within the Palestinian Authority, or PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ vehemently antisemitic remarks regarding the Holocaust.
The speech came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the UN that Israel and Saudi Arabia are on the brink of a historic peace agreement.
Netanyahu said that the deal would create a ripple effect and that more Arab countries will normalize relations with Israel after Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to Fox News last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as the country’s de facto leader, said that Riyadh and Jerusalem are moving closer to an agreement each day.
However, bin Salman repeatedly stressed that such an agreement could only happen if Israel agreed to sweeping concessions for the Palestinians, including the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
In other developments, WIN also reported that Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Kan News Friday that he believes “at least” half a dozen Muslim countries will follow Saudi Arabia’s lead, should Riyadh and Jerusalem normalize ties.
Cohen was interviewed at the United Nations after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of how a “new Middle East” is being created as more Arab countries establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Cohen noted that during his General Assembly address, Netanyahu had said that “a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia also means peace between the Jewish people and the greater Muslim world.”
“There are another six or seven countries that will join that peace agreement, that I have met with – significant Muslim countries with which we do not have relations that are interested,” he said.
He then backtracked slightly, saying that he had personally met with “several” of those countries’ representatives. He refused to name them, saying simply that they are “from Africa and Asia.”
When asked, he said that normalization with Saudi Arabia was “definitely possible,” pointing to the “historic statement” that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman made during his interview on Fox News, “when he turned directly to the camera and said that they are reaching for a peace agreement.”
“Every day we’re getting closer,” he added, saying that the next leader of Saudi Arabia would not have spoken that way in public if a deal was not reachable.