Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, said Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land in an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg published on Monday in The Atlantic magazine. His comments mark another public sign of the growing relationship between the kingdom and the Jewish State.
Reuters reported that when asked if the Israelis have a right to a nation state in their ancient homeland, the Crown Price replied: “I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land.” He added that “we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations.”
Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam’s holiest sides, does not recognize the state of Israel and the two countries maintain no official diplomatic ties. However, Iran’s rising power in the region –spanning from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen — have led to shared interests that push Saudi Arabia and Israel to work together against what they perceive as a common Iranian threat.
Prince Mohammed is currently touring the United States to garner support for his efforts to contain Iranian influence in the Middle East. “There are a lot of interests we share with Israel and if there is peace, there would be a lot of interest between Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,” Prince Mohammed stated.
Last month, the kingdom opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel with the inauguration of an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Flight 139 landed at Ben Gurion Airport after a seven-and-a-half hour journey, marking a historic shift for Riyadh.
While Saudi Arabia opposed the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Arab officials said at the time that the kingdom is on board with the broader U.S. strategy for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.
In November, an Israeli cabinet member disclosed covert contacts between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a rare acknowledgment of long-rumored secret relationship which Riyadh still denies.
[Photo: euronews (deutsch) / YouTube]