Far-right Israeli minister rejects Saudi normalization terms, mocks kingdom to ‘keep
Far-right Israeli minister rejects Saudi normalization terms, mocks kingdom to ‘keep riding camels’
M.U.H
24/10/202526
Far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has dismissed Saudi Arabia’s demand that Tel Aviv must first recognize a Palestinian state as a precondition for normalization, mocking the Arab kingdom by saying they should “keep riding camels in the desert” instead.
Smotrich made the remarks on Thursday, stressing that the occupying regime should reject any normalization deal with Saudi Arabia conditioned on the creation of a Palestinian state, as Israel’s parliament advances a contentious bill to annex the occupied West Bank.
"If Saudi Arabia tells us that it is normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state, then no thank you, my friends. Keep riding your camels in the Saudi desert,” he said at a conference hosted by the Tzomet Institute, addressing a question on relations with the Arab kingdom.
His comments came as the Knesset approved the preliminary reading of a bill to annex the occupied West Bank, during US Vice President JD Vance’s visit.
Hazem Qassem, spokesperson for the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, condemned the "racist" comments targeting the Saudi people.
The remarks, he said, are “an unprecedented display of Israeli disregard for the peoples and governments of the region.”
Israel “remains a foreign occupier and an enemy to all the peoples and components of the Islamic Ummah”, he added.
"The racist statements reveal the depth of hostility the Israeli regime holds toward the region and its populations, underscoring its lack of respect for the culture, history, and standing of regional countries."
Israel’s threats to formally annex the West Bank have intensified since the genocidal war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, coinciding with a wave of international recognition for the State of Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly back in September.
The growing annexation rhetoric has alarmed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have warned that such a move would cross a “red line” and undermine regional stability.
UAE envoy Lana Nusseibeh was quoted as saying that annexation would destroy the “vision and spirit” of the so-called Abraham Accords and halt regional integration efforts.
Saudi Arabia, for its part, reportedly sent Israel a warning via Channel 12 that annexation would have “major implications in all fields.”
While the administration of US President Donald Trump sought to include Riyadh in the so-called Abraham Accords, Riyadh has long insisted that it will only normalize ties with Tel Aviv if it agrees to establish a time-bound, irreversible pathway to a future Palestinian state
Last year, Saudi Crown Prince and the kingdom’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
