by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Saudi Arabia cannot normalize diplomatic relations with Israel unless the Palestinians are granted statehood, Riyadh’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Prince Khalid bin Bandar, said during an interview with Times Radio that aired Sunday.
The ambassador made his remarks while discussing the new Trump’s administration’s interest in expanding the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia. Brokered by the first Trump administration in 2020, the Abraham Accords are bilateral agreements on Arab-Israeli normalization. So far, normalization agreements have been signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Asked what Saudi Arabia would need to enter the Accords, bin Bandar said Sunday that a Palestinian statehood is a “red line” for the Saudi Kingdom. “We cannot have a normalization with Israel without a solution for the Palestinians. And the solution for the Palestinians is a state; it is very clear,” he attested.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t have discussions. Saudi Arabia is a country that engages with everyone, whether we like it or not,” bin Bandar continued. “We believe engagement is the way to move things forward, and so we are happy to continuously engage in processes with anyone, but we do have some red lines, and for us to end the last 75 years of pain and suffering caused by one problem has to include a Palestinian state.”
Acknowledging the challenges to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, bin Bandar reflected that any solution would need to take into consideration Israel’s security requirements, especially in light of the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023.
“We also have to remember, there’s another side, we have to find a solution that fits the Israelis,” bin Bandar said. “That adds a level of complication, particularly with the current government in Israel, but I think we have to address, when someone is struggling through emotion and trauma and difficulty, which both the Israelis and the Palestinians have been for the last year, you have to hold them, you have to be kind to them, you have to be soft with them, but you also have to be very straight, and we have to be more straight with the Israelis and say, look, this is the only option.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Hamas has formally rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal, criticizing it as a “partial” deal that fails to guarantee a complete end to the war or a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The United States may abandon efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine within days if no clear progress is made, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on April 18. Speaking after talks in Paris with European and Ukrainian leaders, Rubio said President Trump is prepared to “move on” from the negotiations in the absence of any clear signs of progress.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced a Christian man to death on Good Friday on controversial charges of blasphemy against Islam, Christians told Worthy News.
Christians across autocratically-ruled Nicaragua “are celebrating Holy Week” leading up to Easter under the watchful eye of police and paramilitary forces, Christians told Worthy News on Good Friday.
Italy’s rightwing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says U.S. President Donald J. Trump has accepted her invitation for an official trip to Rome at a time when the third largest economy in the European Union tries to bridge differences between the EU and the U.S. over trade and security.
An area near Italy’s southern city of Naples plunged into mourning early Friday after authorities confirmed that at least four people died and one was seriously injured when a cable car crashed to the ground.
Hamas is facing a crippling cash crisis in Gaza, struggling to pay its fighters and government workers amid intensified Israeli pressure.