Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed envoy to the Palestinian Authority, Nayef al-Sudairi, visited the Israeli-occupied West Bank and presented his credentials to President Mahmoud Abbas during his first visit to the region.
This move is linked to recent American efforts to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Al-Sudairi’s visit to the West Bank is seen as an attempt by Saudi Arabia to address a key issue in the normalization deal with Israel: Saudi Arabia’s stance toward the Palestinians.
The Saudi government has stated that it will only normalize ties with Israel if there is significant progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
Before presenting his credentials, al-Sudairi assured the Palestinians that Saudi Arabia is “working to establish a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.” He expressed hope that future meetings would take place in Jerusalem.
This visit comes at a time when Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz led an Israeli delegation to Riyadh, marking the first public visit by a senior Israeli official to Saudi Arabia. Katz’s visit is seen as a sign of the growing momentum in diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a central issue in the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia’s role in the region and its stance on the Palestinian cause are closely watched by international observers. Saudi Arabia has previously endorsed the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for a just settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Efforts to establish formal relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia have escalated recently, with discussions between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden on the prospect of an agreement.
