Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is possible without Israel having to commit to a pathway to Palestinian statehood, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said in an interview in the Jerusalem Post Studio on Monday.
With a French-Saudi summit geared towards Palestinian statehood approaching, Haskel said that the gulf monarchy needed to “make a decision” on whether to support Palestinian statehood or normalize relations with Israel.
“The offer for a Palestinian state was there on the table for years, multiple times. They refused. They didn't want it. Why? Because a bigger goal was not a Palestinian state. It was to obliterate the state of Israel, killing all the Jews in Israel and out [of it],” Haskel said.
“It's a religious cause. It's not a territorial aspiration in the sense of a state, but for the entire land. And I think that the Saudis need to make that choice as well, like Egypt did, like Jordan did, like the Emiratis, Bahrainis did,” the deputy foreign minister said.
Possible to have normalization without Israeli commitment to Palestinian statehood
Asked whether normalization was possible without Israel having to commit to Palestinian statehood, Haskel answered that she “believed so.”
The French-Saudi summit was “just another attempt to gain public international attention,” Haskel said, arguing that it would “not change reality.”
Haskel cited a vote in the Knesset in which 98 MKs supported a declaratory measure against a unilateral formation of a Palestinian state.
By holding the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron was “rewarding” the October 7 Hamas massacre, Haskel said. The summit, while declaratory, could also give Hamas a “breadth of fresh air” and “takes us further from a ceasefire,” since Hamas will “continue to say no” because by “holding on a little further,” they will be rewarded, Haskel said.
“If the initiative would have been taken down a long time ago … I think a month and a half ago Hamas would have agreed to a ceasefire,” but such declarations gave Hamas “more oxygen,” Haskel said.
Enemies using global forums, organizations against Israel
According to Haskel, Israel’s enemies have been attempting “since the foundation of Israel” to utilize international forums and organizations against Israel, but that this has increased during the ongoing war, to a point where it has endangered Israel’s ability to defend itself.
Haskel also criticized what she said was “biased media” in many countries for leading to public anti-Israel pressure.
Still, despite attempts by countries such as Spain, Ireland, and Norway to pass resolutions against Israel on international forums, others were still supporting Israel, Haskel said, quoting as an example German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s in June praising the Israeli military for doing the “dirty work” of attacking Iran.
Haskel said that she and Foreign Minister MK Gideon Sa’ar were working constantly in order to maintain Israel’s relationships with countries. She gave as an example hers and Sa’ar’s many recent trips to key European countries.