Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the United Nations voiced Tuesday the kingdom's readiness to normalize relations with Israel on the condition that the Arab Peace Initiative was implemented.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The announcement was published in an English-language interview conducted by the Saudi newspaper Arab News with Abdallah Al-Mouallimi.
"The official Saudi position is that we are ready to normalize relations with Israel as soon as the terms of the [the Arab Peace Initiative] that was put forwards in 2002 are implemented," Al-Mouallimi said.
He explained that the initiative "calls for ending the occupation of all Arab lands occupied by Israel in 1967, establishing an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, and granting the Palestinians the right to self-determination.
"Once this happens, it is not only Saudi Arabia but the entire Islamic world, and the 57 members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will follow us … in recognizing Israel and establishing relations with it," Al-Mouallimi said.
The Arab Peace Initiative, also known as the Saudi Initiative, was adopted by the League of Arab States during a summit in 2002 in Beirut, Lebanon. It calls for the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.
"Time does not change right or wrong," Al-Mouallimi stressed, Arab News reported. "Israeli practices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with regard to settlements, siege and deprive Palestinians of their dignity and rights."
In early November, a delegation of Jewish communities in the United States met with senior Saudi officials in the kingdom in efforts to advance normalization.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
