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CAIRO (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s ruler King Salman bin Abdulaziz told President Donald Trump that there would be no normalization with Israel without Palestinian statehood, the kingdom’s state news agency reported on Monday.
The leaders spoke by phone following a landmark deal brokered by the United States last month under which the United Arab Emirates agreed to become the third Arab state to normalize ties with Israel after Egypt and Jordan.
King Salman told Trump that he appreciated the United States’ efforts to support peace and that Saudi Arabia wanted to see a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian problem based on the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by the kingdom in 2002.
Under the proposal, Arab nations have offered Israel normalized ties in exchange for a statehood agreement with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the site of its holiest shrines, does not recognize Israel.
However, this month the kingdom said it would allow flights between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, including Israeli planes, to use its airspace.
Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner has said he expects another Arab country to normalize ties within a few months.
No other Arab state has so far said that it is considering following the United Arab Emirates.
King Salman’s son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Kushner discussed the need for Palestinians and Israelis to resume negotiations and reach a lasting peace after Kushner visited the United Arab Emirates last month.
The agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel was met by overwhelming Palestinian opposition.
(Reporting by Alaa Swilam, written by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Peter Cooney and Richard Pullin)
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