Israeli minister rejects Saudi normalisation if it includes Palestinian state

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on October 23, that he would not support a normalisation agreement with Saudi Arabia if it involved the creation of a Palestinian state.

“If Saudi Arabia tells us ‘normalisation in exchange for a Palestinian state,’ friends — no thank you. Keep riding camels in the desert in Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to develop with the economy, society and state and the great things that we know how to do,” Smotrich said at a conference titled Halacha in the Technological Era, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The remarks drew swift condemnation from Israeli opposition figures, who accused Smotrich of ignorance and damaging Israel’s diplomatic interests.

Several leaders stressed that he did not represent the State of Israel and called on him to apologise.

His comments followed October 22 Knesset vote approving, in its preliminary reading, a bill extending Israeli sovereignty to West Bank settlements — legislation opposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated that normalisation with Israel is contingent upon a clear, time-bound commitment toward establishing a Palestinian state — a condition firmly rejected by Smotrich and other members of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition.

Riyadh condemned the Knesset vote, describing the move as an attempt to “legitimise Israeli sovereignty over illegal colonial settlement.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid criticised Smotrich’s rhetoric, posting on X that “instead of trying to advance agreements that could change the Middle East, members of this government are speaking like the lowest-tier Twitter users, making harmful statements.”

In an Arabic-language message, Lapid added, “To our friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, Smotrich does not represent the State of Israel.”

By Jeyhun Aghazada