US says Saudi Arabia 'positive' on Israel normalization after Riyadh downplays

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The White House said Monday that Saudi Arabia is "positive" about normalizing relations with Israel, just hours after Riyadh's top diplomat appeared to downplay the possibility.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby described the elusive initiative to establish ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv as a potential "significant milestone" in achieving a two-state solution to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

He maintained that normalization between the regional neighbors is still possible after its prospects dimmed greatly amid Israel's ongoing war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

"We were working on a very hard before the seventh of October. We're still working on it hard. And we've got positive feedback from the partners in the region, including Saudi Arabia," he told reporters at the White House.

"That could open up additional opportunities to try to get at a reasonable two-state construct," he added.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told CNN Sunday that Saudi Arabia would neither recognize Israel, nor aid in the reconstruction of Gaza, without a viable pathway to establishing a Palestinian state. It is unclear how that might be accomplished.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vocally been opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state in recent days, breaking with US President Joe Biden and his senior officials amid a deepening divide between the allies.

On Saturday, Netanyahu and his office maintained that Israel must retain security control over the occupied West Bank and Gaza, rejecting the possibility of Palestinians exercising sovereignty in the territories.

During his interview with CNN Sunday, the Saudi top diplomat was asked: "Are you saying unequivocally that if there is not a credible and irreversible path to a Palestinian state, there will not be normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel?”

“That’s the only way we’re going to get a benefit,” bin Farhan responded. “So, yes.”