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Arabia
Saudi crown prince says Israelis have right to their own land
2018-04-03
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land in an interview published on Monday in U.S. magazine The Atlantic, another public sign of ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv appearing to grow closer.

Asked if he believes the Jewish people have a right to a nation-state in at least part of their ancestral homeland, Mohammed bin Salman was quoted as saying:

"I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land. But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations."

Saudi Arabia - birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines - does not recognize Israel. It has maintained for years that normalizing relations hinges on Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war, territory Palestinians seek for a future state.

"We have religious concerns about the fate of the holy mosque in Jerusalem and about the rights of the Palestinian people. This is what we have. We don’t have any objection against any other people," said Prince Mohammed who is touring the United States to drum up investments and support for his efforts to contain Iranian influence.

Increased tension between Tehran and Riyadh has fueled speculation that shared interests may push Saudi Arabia and Israel to work together against what they see as a common Iranian threat.

"There are a lot of interests we share with Israel and if there is peace, there would be a lot of interest between Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries", Prince Mohammed added.
Update from The Times of Israel at 9:50 a.m. EDT:
After crown prince’s Israel comments, Saudi king stresses support for Palestinians

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman stresses his support for the Palestinians, a day after the crown prince told The Atlantic that both Israel and the Palestinians have a right to a homeland.

The Saudi monarch emphasizes “the kingdom’s steadfast position towards the Palestinian issue and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” state news agency SPA says, according to Reuters. The official Saudi outlet does not mention the crown prince’s remarks on the Jewish state.
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