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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Thursday that he wouldn’t agree to a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia if it meant the establishment of a Palestinian state, disparagingly saying the Saudis could “keep riding camels.”
“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, and we will continue to develop with the economy, society and state and the great things that we know how to do,” Smotrich said, speaking at a conference called “Halacha in the Technological Era” organized by the Zomet Institute and the Makor Rishon newspaper.
Smotrich was denounced by several opposition leaders, who accused him of ignorance and causing harm, said he did not represent Israel, and demanded he apologize.
The far-right Religious Zionism party leader apologized a few hours later, with a caveat: “My comment about Saudi Arabia was absolutely inappropriate, and I apologize for the insult it caused,” he said. At the same time, he added, “I expect from the Saudis not to do us harm and not to deny our heritage, our tradition and the rights of the Jewish people to its historic homelands in Judea and Samaria, and to establish true peace with us.”
His comments came following Wednesday’s vote in the Knesset to pass a bill in its preliminary reading that would apply Israeli sovereignty to West Bank settlements, despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party.
Many in Netanyahu’s coalition have been loudly calling to advance annexation as a response to the recognition of a Palestinian state by Western powers last month. In early September, Smotrich publicly called for the annexation of 82 percent of the West Bank, even as regional countries warned that such a move would spell the end of Israel’s integration into the Middle East.
It could also lead to a crisis with US President Donald Trump, who has ruled out such a move — he stated last month that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank — prompting Netanyahu’s coalition allies to demand that the premier ignore Washington.
Further complicating matters, the US president is planning to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in November 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 — a condition Smotrich and other members of Netanyahu’s right-wing government vehemently oppose.
Saudi Arabia immediately denounced the Knesset’s Wednesday vote in favor of the annexation bills, saying they were aimed at “legitimizing Israeli sovereignty over illegal colonial settlement.”
“The kingdom stresses its complete rejection of all settlements and expansionist violations perpetrated by the Israeli occupation authorities,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday. “The kingdom reiterates its support for the inherent and historical right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant international resolutions.”
Smotrich’s comments provoked criticism from opposition figures including Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who wrote in a post on X, “Instead of trying to advance agreements that could change the Middle East, members of this government are speaking like the lowest-tier Twitter users, making harmful statements.”
“This is not how you lead change. Smotrich must apologize,” the Yesh Atid party leader demanded.
He added in an Arabic-language tweet, “To our friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, Smotrich does not represent the State of Israel.”
“Instead of normalization with Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu and Smotrich’s coalition chooses Hamas and Qatar in Gaza,” said Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats party.
“The people of Israel are not the government, and certainly not Smotrich, who wouldn’t even pass the electoral threshold, yet dares to threaten Saudi Arabia and declare there will be no Palestinian state — because the Palestinian Authority is a burden and Hamas is an asset — the exact same cursed policy that led to October 7,” he said, adding that “boycotting the Saudis is a reward for Hamas and will help them maintain control in the Gaza Strip, just as Smotrich wants.”
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said that Smotrich’s comments “indicate ignorance and a lack of internalization of his responsibility as a senior minister in the government and cabinet.”
“Israel deserves a government free of extremists, in which ministers will care about the future of the country, and not about a few more likes,” he added.
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