Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that he won’t agree to a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia if it means the establishment of a Palestinian state, dismissing Riyadh as being free to keep “riding camels,” APA reports, citing The Times of Israel.
“If Saudi Arabia tells us ‘normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state,’ friends — no thank you. Keep riding camels in the desert in Saudi Arabia,” Smotrich says, speaking at a conference called “Halacha in the Technological Era” organized by the Zomet Institute and the Makor Rishon newspaper.
His comment has drawn criticism for its racist tone and comes amid plans by US President Donald Trump to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House next month to discuss, among other things, advancing an Israel-Saudi normalization agreement.
Riyadh has long insisted that it will only normalize ties with Israel if Jerusalem agrees to establish a time-bound, irreversible pathway to a future Palestinian state — something Smotrich and other members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government vehemently oppose.
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