Senior Saudi commentator: "Normalization with Israel - only after Palestinian independence" Israel today

Dr. Nawaf Obeid, who is close to the Riyadh regime, wrote to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds that a move by Saudi recognition of Israel could anger extremists in the country and cause violence. • However, the Saudi expert added:

• King of Saudi Arabia Salman Abdullahiz // Photo: AP

Saudi Arabia will not normalize with Israel until Palestinian independence is achieved, a senior Saudi commentator close to Riyadh claimed today (Monday) in an opinion piece for the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds.

The commentator, Dr. Nawaf Obeid, claims in an article titled, "Will we see the Israeli flag waving in Riyadh?"

Because: "The violence and human rights violations committed by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on the one hand, and the response of the four states in the Arabian Peninsula on the other, is a contradiction and paradox for many."

Obeid claimed that the Saudi peace initiative of 2002 was "the only way to reach an agreement between Israel and the Muslim world." 

"Most residents of Saudi Arabia still believe that, as King Faisal has previously stated, Saudi Arabia will be the last Arab and Muslim country to recognize Israel," the expert said, adding that "although this is something few people talk about - there are violent religious extremists who will not recognize Israel. "Because they will see this move as an abandonment of the values ​​of Islam." 

However, Obeid acknowledges that there has indeed been progress in recent years in recognizing Israel.

"It is impossible to ignore the fact that the door of normalization with Israel has indeed opened and it is impossible to block or close it completely. But the world will see that such normalization will be conditional and the condition is Palestinian independence," Obeid wrote. 

Due to Obeid's proximity to the royal house and his positions, it can be assumed that his remarks reflect, at least to some extent, the positions of the government in Riyadh, which has previously announced that it seeks to establish relations with Israel only under an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.