After Saudi visit, Blinken raises Palestinian state with Israel PM
World
Blinken on Thursday urged Israeli PM not to undermine prospects for a Palestinian state.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to undermine prospects for a Palestinian state, after talks in Saudi Arabia which linked normalization to peace efforts.
ngside Blinken on Thursday, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that normalization with Israel "is in the interest of the region" and would "bring significant benefits to all."
"But without finding a pathway to peace for the Palestinian people, without addressing that challenge, any normalization will have limited benefits," he said.
"Therefore, I think we should continue to focus on finding a pathway towards a two-state solution, on finding a pathway towards giving the Palestinians dignity and justice."
Netanyahu during his last stint in power won normalization from the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain in what both he and the then US administration of Donald Trump saw as crowning achievements.
The longest-serving Israeli premier has returned to power leading the country's most right-wing government ever with supporters adamantly opposed to a Palestinian state.
