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JERUSALEM, Dec. 16 (AP) – Israel’s designated prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed Thursday to seek full diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia once he takes office, claiming that doing so would also foster closer relations with the Palestinians. of peace.
Netanyahu also said he was open to restarting behind-the-scenes peace talks with the Palestinians.
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The comments, made during a rare interview with Arab news outlets on the Saudi Arabia-owned Al-Arabiya news channel, appeared aimed at assuaging concerns about the far-right makeup of the government Netanyahu is forming.
He has struck a series of coalition deals with hardliners who support tougher action against Palestinian militants, increased settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and strongly oppose the idea of ​​an independent Palestinian state.
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Netanyahu told the channel he would set the overall policy.
“I will govern, I will lead,” he said. “Other parties have joined me. I’m not joining them.”
Netanyahu said he wanted to expand the Abraham Accords – a series of normalization deals with four Arab countries in 2020 – with a similar agreement with Saudi Arabia.
“This will be a huge leap forward for a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab world,” he said. “It will change our region in unimaginable ways. I think it will ultimately promote Israeli-Palestinian peace. I believe in that. I intend to pursue it.”
“Of course, it depends on whether the leadership in Saudi Arabia is willing to engage in this work,” he added. “I sure hope they will.”
Israel has long engaged in behind-the-scenes engagement with Saudi Arabia — based on their shared hostility toward Iran. But Saudi Arabia says full diplomatic ties will only be established after an independent Palestinian state is established in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Netanyahu said he would seek peace with the Palestinians, perhaps through careful negotiations. But he refused to support a two-state solution, instead calling for “fresh perspectives” and creative thinking. He also voiced support for an arrangement proposed by the Trump administration but firmly rejected by the Palestinians.
“I think we need to talk about this,” he said. “Maybe be careful what you say.”
“I believe in open contracts, secret or discreet,” he said.
Peace talks stalled during Netanyahu’s first 12 years as prime minister, which ended last year.
Palestinians seek the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – territories Israel captured in the 1967 war – to build a future state. The international community sees a two-state solution as the only realistic way to resolve the century-old conflict.
Netanyahu did not specify his vision for peace, but made clear that it fell short of what the Palestinians want.
“I would say that in the final solution, the Palestinians should have all the power to govern themselves, but nothing that threatens the survival and existence of the state of Israel,” he said.
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declined to comment on Netanyahu’s remarks.
Netanyahu and a group of far-right and ultra-Orthodox religious parties won a majority in the Knesset in November 1 elections, enabling them to form a new government.
Netanyahu has struck a series of coalition deals that have yet to be finalized. He has until December 21 to form a government. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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