‘Historic peace’ between Saudi Arabia, Israel can be forged, Netanyahu tells Biden

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - In a meeting with US President Joe Biden in New York, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the possibility of reaching a peace deal with Saudi Arabia.

“I think that under your leadership, Mr. President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. And I think such a peace would go a long way first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” Netanyahu's office quoted the prime minister as saying in the meeting held on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly session.

"This is something within our reach. I believe that working together we can make history and create a better future for the region and beyond," Netanyahu said in his first meeting with Biden after regaining office in December 2022.

There were no immediate comments from any Saudi official on Netanyahu's remarks.

According to media reports, Washington has been pushing to establish formal ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

However, Riyadh has insisted that it will not fully normalize ties with Israel until a two-state solution with the Palestinians is reached.

Six Arab countries have diplomatic ties with Israel, starting with Egypt in 1979, Jordan in 1994, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain in September 2020, and then Sudan and Morocco later that year.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar