ISTANBUL

Saudi Arabia will not normalize relations with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established and the war in Gaza ends, the kingdom’s foreign minister said Monday, signaling Riyadh’s clearest stance yet linking recognition to progress on a two-state solution.

Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan made the remarks at a press briefing with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in New York, following a high-level international conference on implementing the two-state solution, co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France.

“For the kingdom, recognition is very much tied to the establishment of the Palestinian state,” Prince Faisal said when asked whether Saudi Arabia could relaunch the Abraham Accords recognition for Palestine as a prerequisite for normalizing relations with Israel.

“We certainly hope that the clear consensus shown today – which will be shown tomorrow as well – and the clear momentum towards establishing that Palestinian state can open the conversation about normalization,” he added.

Faisal emphasized that normalization with Israel cannot be discussed while Israel’s genocide continues in Gaza.

Talks “can only open first if the conflict in Gaza ends and if the suffering of the people of Gaza is alleviated,” he said. “Because there's no reason, even, or no credibility, to have a conversation about normalization with constant death and suffering and destruction in Gaza.”

“And then we have to talk about the establishment of the Palestinian state. And once that is achieved, then obviously we can talk about normalization,” he added.