Israeli media rule out normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia in 2023

JERUSALEM

Israeli media ruled out establishing diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia in 2023, citing Tel Aviv’s opposition to allowing Riyadh to develop nuclear power.

Public broadcaster KAN said Israel totally refuses to allow the Saudis to develop nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

Israel Hayom newspaper, citing a diplomatic source, said Israel "has long opposed the idea of any Middle Eastern actor having nuclear capabilities."

According to the daily, Riyadh has recently put the civilian nuclear program as a condition for moving towards normalizing ties with Tel Aviv.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is set to hold a phone call on Monday with his US counterpart Antony Blinken and they are expected to discuss efforts aimed at normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia among other issues.

There was no comment from the Saudi authorities on the report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited on several occasions the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia as a key to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and opposes normalization with Tel Aviv until ending the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Six Arab countries have diplomatic ties with Israel starting with Egypt in 1979, Jordan in 1994, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara