Saudi Arabia will not normalize ties with Israel “unless it ends the war in Gaza,” Saudi officials have informed associates of US President-elect Donald Trump, a person with knowledge about the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday evening.

In recent weeks, Saudi officials, headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, met people close to Trump, including Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East.

Normalization between the countries could materialize only after the war in Gaza ends, the Saudi officials told Witkoff, according to the informed source.

A pathway toward a Palestinian state

The Saudis are also demanding "some kind" of statement regarding a Palestinian state, the sources said.
The flags of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
The flags of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
The statement does not have to include recognition of a Palestinian state; it can also be about an Israeli “pathway toward a Palestinian state,” the source said

A normalization agreement has been reached between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Haaretz reported earlier on Tuesday.