US top diplomat Antony Blinken said there was “clear interest” in pursuing relations with Israel after talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the latest stop in a tour to calm a region inflamed by the Israel-Hamas war.
Blinken also said all the leaders on his tour, which took him to six countries before heading to Israel, had agreed to work with the US to help Gaza’s recovery and long-term stability.
He was speaking after meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler, in a lavish tent outside Al Ula, a historic oasis town.
“We talked about (Israeli normalisation) actually on every stop, including of course here in Saudi Arabia,” he told reporters before flying to Tel Aviv.
“And I can tell you this, there’s a clear interest here in pursuing that.”
Tentative efforts towards potential ties between Saudi, home of Islam’s two holiest sites, and Israel were halted after the Israel-Hamas war flared just over three months ago.
The war started with Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in about 1,140 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Source: BBS
