Israel's Herzog pushes normalisation with Saudi Arabia

Saudi officials have repeatedly said they will not recognise Israel without a path to an independent Palestinian state, which Israel's governments oppose. In 2023, Saudi Arabia was engaged in tentative talks on normalisation, but it pulled out as Israel's genocidal war on Gaza erupted. [Getty] Israeli President Isaac Herzog pushed for progress on normalisation between his country and Saudi Arabia in a rare interview with the Riyadh-based channel Al Arabiya aired on Thursday. "It is my dream to see peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. I have great respect for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman," Herzog told the state-owned broadcaster, referring to Saudi Arabia's de facto leader. "The thing that we want most in Israel is to see rapprochement between the nations," he added in the interview, which took place in occupied Jerusalem. In 2023, Saudi Arabia was engaged in tentative talks on normalisation, but it pulled out as Israel's genocidal war on Gaza erupted. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks, and 100,000 wounded. Saudi officials have repeatedly said they will not recognise Israel without a path to an independent Palestinian state, which Israel's governments oppose. Related Articles