Israel could be a “potential ally”.

Mohammed bin Salman: We hope to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has described Israel as a “potential ally” of the desert kingdom. “For us, we hope that the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians will be resolved,” the prince told the American monthly newspaper The Atlantic. The quotes were distributed by the official Saudi Press Agency. “We don’t see Israel as an enemy, we see the state as a potential ally with many interests that we can pursue together,” the Saudi ruler said. “But we have to resolve some issues before we get there,” he added. As is well known, there are no diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. But in 2020, two of the Saudis’ main Gulf allies – Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – normalized relations with Israel, becoming the third and fourth Arab country to declare allegiance to Israel, after Egypt and Jordan. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly emphasized that, in accordance with the decades-old position of the Arab League, it will not enter into any official contacts with Israel until the conflict with the Palestinians is resolved. Prince Mohammed appears to be more open about Israel than his father, King Salman, in this regard, as he has allowed Israeli civilian aircraft to fly over Saudi airspace. – Recently, Saudi Finance Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told the Israeli magazine “Maariv” that normalization will become a reality once Israel agrees to a “just solution” to the Palestinian issue.