Saudi Arabia has informed the United States that it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem and Israeli "aggression" on the Gaza Strip ceases, according to a Saudi foreign ministry statement issued on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby stated that the Biden administration has gotten favorable indications indicating Saudi Arabia and Israel are eager to resume normalization talks.
In light of the statements attributed to Kirby, the kingdom announced that it would reiterate its hard stance on the Palestinian issue in Washington, according to the ministry.
The notion of Israel and Saudi Arabia formalizing ties has been discussed since the Saudis quietly agreed to Gulf neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, establishing ties with Israel in 2020.
Saudi Arabia suspended US-backed plans to normalize relations with Israel in October 2023, according to sources familiar with Riyadh's thinking.