In an English-language interview with Fox News, broadcast and translated by the Saudi Al-Ikhbariya channel, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) denied reports about the normalization agreement that was secretly concluded between the Kingdom and the Israeli occupation state. But he stressed at the same time that his country was moving steadily closer to normalizing relations with Israel.
Asked what it would take to establish formal relations with the Israeli state, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader told Fox News reporter Bret Baier: “For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part,” adding that there had been “good negotiations” so far.
“We got to see where we go,” MBS said. “We hope that will reach a place, that it will ease the lives of the Palestinians, and that it will get Israel as a player in the Middle East.”
Apparently, MBS forgot that the Israeli negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), chaired by Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen, have stopped since 2014 over the Israeli adherence to settlement construction and refusal to the two-state solution.
MBS’s statements came while the Israeli war machine continued to claim thousands of lives in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
It is worth mentioning that out of 22 Arab countries, only five are establishing normalization ties with the Israeli occupation, including Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, amid Saudi attempts to join the quagmire.
On the other hand, MBS spoke about his alleged achievements in reference to Vision 2030, which the Saudi citizen did not see any significant achievement other than the rise in prices and taxes and the increase in poverty and unemployment rates, according to official Saudi reports.
He made it clear his immediate ambition was to build on his ambitious programme to develop the Saudi economy, describing his country as “the greatest success story of the 21st century.”
However, MBS failed to give any realistic figures and percentages that prove his success story, except when talking about the Entertainment Authority, led by Turki Al-Sheikh.
MBS also claimed that the Kingdom received only 40 million visitors for tourism over the past year. However, the Crown Prince did not mention that the majority of these millions are ordinary pilgrims.
