Saudis will not recognise Israel without route to a free state for Palestinians

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has said the kingdom will not normalise relations with Israel or contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction without a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s remarks in an interview with CNN broadcast on Sunday were some of the most direct yet to come from Saudi officials on the Gaza conflict.

It puts the kingdom at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected Palestinian statehood and outlined his plans for open ended military control over Gaza.

The dispute pits the United States and its Arab allies against Israel and poses a major obstacle to any plansforpost-wargovernance or reconstruction in Gaza.

Before the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war, the US had been trying to broker a landmark agreement in which saudi arabia would normalise relations with Israel in exchange for US security guarantees,aid in establishing a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom, and progresstoward resolving theisraeli-palestinian conflict.

In September, Mr Netanyahu had said Israel was “at the cusp” of such a deal, which he said would transform the Middle East.

In the interview with CNN’S Fareed Zakaria GPS show, the host asked the Saudi foreign minister: “Are you saying unequivocally that if there is not a credible and irreversible path to a palestinian state, there will not be normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel?” prince faisal replied :“that’ s the only way we’re going to get a benefit. So, yes.”

Earlier in the interview, when asked if oil-rich Saudi Arabia would finance reconstruction in Gaza - where Israel’s air and ground offensive has devastated vast swathes of the impoverished territory - Prince Faisal, inset, gave a similar answer.

“As long as we’re able to find a pathway to a solution,” he said. “But if we are just resetting to the status quo before October 7 we’re not interested in that conversation.”

The Palestinians seek a state that would include Gaza, the Israeli-occupied west bank and annexed east jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel views all of Jerusalem as its capital and the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people.