RIYADH: Israel has a “Right” to a homeland, said the crown prince and de facto leader of Saudi Arabia a notable shift in the kingdom’s position published on Monday.
Saudi Arabia and Israel still have no formal diplomatic relations, but behind the scenes, Israel, Saudi and Emirates govt has been meeting in secret.
Both countries see Iran as their biggest outside threat and the United States as their key ally, and both see danger from armed extremists.
Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians has long proved an obstacle to a full rapprochement, however, as Riyadh still supports their claim to sovereignty.
But now Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman while speaking to the editor-in-chief of US news magazine The Atlantic, appeared to put the rival land claims on an equal footing, which seems a great victory for Israel and US policy makers.
The prince was asked by Jeffrey Goldberg whether the “Jewish people have a right to a nation-state in at least part of their ancestral homeland?”
“I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation,” said the prince, who is on a three-week US tour.
“I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land,” he added.
“But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations.”
This would be Trump administration's great achievement to divide Muslim world into two factions i.e Iran and Arab factions.