Ramallah: Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed envoy to the Palestinian Authority presented his credentials to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during his first visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday, a trip linked to American efforts to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The visit by nonresident ambassador Nayef al-Sudairi, who also serves as the Saudi ambassador to Jordan, is widely seen as an attempt by the kingdom to address the key sticking point in the Saudi-Israeli normalisation deal -- Saudi Arabia’s long-standing support for the Palestinians.
The Saudi government has said it will only normalise ties with Israel if there is major progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
To kick off his two-day trip, the Saudi diplomat met with Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority that
exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, and other senior Palestinian officials.
“God willing, this visit will be just the beginning of things to come, with the coordination of senior Palestinian officials who are architects of our relations,” al-Sudairi told journalists after meeting
with Abbas.