15 September 2023; MEMO: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken yesterday revealed that Saudi Arabia has made it clear to the United States that issues related to the Palestinians will be an essential part of any future agreement with Israel.
“It is also clear from what we hear from the Saudis that if this process is to move forward, the Palestinian piece is going to be very important too,” Blinken said, adding, “Normalisation cannot come at the expense of the Palestinian cause.”
He explained that this is also the position of the US administration and other Arab countries that will participate.
“In our judgment, that needs to involve a two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Blinken told the Pod Save the World.
The US official stressed that if the United States succeeds in achieving a normalisation agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, it will move the world in that direction, adding that the goal of these efforts is to advance a world that is more peaceful, prosperous and full of opportunities.
“If you have the leading Muslim country in the world… making peace with Israel, that’s going to have benefits that travel well beyond the region,” Blinken said.
