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A former Saudi official accused Israel of practicing “hypocrisy”, while the Israeli Foreign Minister expressed regret over these statements, describing them as “not expressing the spirit of change in the region.”
According to Israeli media, including “Walla” and Channel 24, Prince Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud, former head of Saudi intelligence, spoke during the Regional Security Conference (Manama Dialogue) currently taking place in the capital. Bahrain, and concludes its work on Sunday, with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Israeli Gabi Ashkenazi.
Israeli media quoted Al-Faisal, who previously served as the kingdom’s ambassador to Washington, as saying that his remarks “represent his own position” and not the regime in Riyadh.
During his participation in the conference, Al-Faisal accused Israel of hypocrisy and said that it “affirms on the one hand that it is existentially threatened and wants peace, but on the other hand it occupies Palestinian lands, bombs Arab countries and possesses nuclear weapons. “.
“The Israelis want to establish relations with Saudi Arabia, but they are sending their attack dogs in the international media, against Saudi Arabia,” Al-Faisal added, without giving explanations.
“An open wound cannot be treated with painkillers. You cannot call the Abraham agreement without a role for Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The Abraham Agreement is the name given by the current US administration to the normalization agreements between Israel and some Arab countries.
Al-Faisal added: “I call on the Israelis to accept our outstretched hand and accept the Arab peace initiative. Only then can we face Iran together.”
Signing of the natural agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain under the auspices of the United States (Reuters)The 2002 Arab initiative envisages the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, and the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and of the lands still occupied in southern Lebanon, in exchange for Arab recognition of Israel and normalization. Relations with her.
Israel rejects the Arab initiative and calls on the Arab countries to normalize their relations without ending their occupation of Arab lands.
On the other hand, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, who spoke immediately after Al-Faisal, expressed regret for the statements of the Saudi prince, saying: “I do not think that these statements reflect the spirit of change in the Middle East. “.
The Israeli chancellor added that he hopes that the normalization agreements will lead to the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians, considering that “the Abraham agreement does not replace negotiations with the Palestinians.”
Ashkenazi called on the Palestinians to “review their position” and enter into direct negotiations with Israel without preconditions, adding: “Israel is moving from annexation to normalization, so there is a window of opportunity to find a solution to the conflict.”
Palestinian-Israeli negotiations came to a halt because Tel Aviv refused to stop settlement activity on the lands of the West Bank and did not accept the option of the “two-state solution.”
In mid-September, Israel signed two agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize relations, and Khartoum later announced its agreement to normalize with Tel Aviv.
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