Saudi minister says Israel talks hinge on Palestinian question

RIYADH – Mr Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s minister of investment, said talks towards the normalisation of ties with Israel remain on the table but have always been “contingent on a pathway to a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question”.

“That was on the table – it remains on the table and obviously the setback over the last month has clarified why Saudi Arabia was so adamant that resolution of the Palestinian conflict has to be part of a broader normalisation in the Middle East,” Mr Falih said on a panel moderated by Stephanie Flanders at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.

When asked whether Saudi Arabia would use economic tools such as the oil price to achieve a cease-fire, Mr Falih laughed and said: “That is not on the table today. Saudi Arabia is trying to find peace through peaceful discussions.”

Mr Falih noted that it’s unfortunate the New Economy Forum this year is gathering at a time of heightened crisis.

He said that Saudi Arabia is pained on a human level at the loss of life in Gaza and the losses in Israel on Oct 7.

“The Palestinian people have had their basic rights taken away and the right for statehood and peaceful existence unfulfilled, and it’s time to use this awful situation to bring that to the fore and to resolve it,” Mr Falih said.

The Oct 7 attack on Israel by militants from Hamas and Israel’s response has fuelled concerns of a broader conflict in the region.