Just a year after announcing that diplomatic ties with Israel were getting closer, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader has shut down talk of normalisation as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to spread.
The tougher tone from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came the same day that exploding walkie-talkies killed members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, again raising fears of a wider war.
The Iran-backed group blamed Israel and has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces since October in support of Palestinian movement Hamas.
The Saudis have previously made clear they want a path to a Palestinian state, but Prince Mohammed explicitly told the advisory Shura Council on Wednesday that an “independent Palestinian state” is a condition for normalisation.
“We affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without one,” he said.
According to Saudi government adviser Ali Shihabi, the Saudi position was always clear, even if “some had insinuated that it was flexible”.
Prince Mohammed wanted to “eliminate any ambiguity” with his latest comments, Shihabi said.
The prince quashed upbeat messaging from the United States, after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this month that normalisation was possible before President Joe Biden leaves office in January.
Days after the war in Gaza broke out on October 7,