KSA understands 'Israel' is an indispensable partner: Netanyahu
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The Israeli Prime Minister highlighted that KSA's rapprochement with Iran has noting to do with Saudi-Israeli relations.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media during a press conference, in "Tel Aviv", Monday, April 10, 2023. (AP)
During an interview with CNBC on April 19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed any potential consequences of the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement agreement, saying that the agreement has "very little" to do with "Israel."
“Saudi Arabia, the leadership there, has no illusions about who their adversaries are and who their friends are in [West Asia]. They understand that Israel is an indispensable partner for the Arab world in achieving security, prosperity, and peace,” Netanyahu said.
“Those who partner with Iran partner with misery. Look at Lebanon, look at Yemen, look at Syria, look at Iraq,” he told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday, alleging that “95 percent of the problems in [West Asia] emanate from Iran.”
“We have done enormously well alone, but we can do a lot better together,” the embattled premier added.
When asked how "Tel Aviv" rationalizes the kingdom's normalization of ties with Syria – a country that "Israel" attacks on a regular basis – and their welcoming of Hamas leaders, Netanyahu claimed Saudi authorities were likely telling them "to prepare themselves [for normalization with 'Israel'] — maybe to try to tell them to stop doing the kind of terror they foment."
Later, he denied knowledge of any Chinese initiative to mediate a resolution to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, saying, "I'm not aware of any specific offer of this kind... Look, we respect China, we deal with China a great deal. But we also know we have an indispensable alliance with our great friend, the United States.”
Netanyahu's claims come just hours after Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told the media that "Israel" still expects to be invited to Saudi Arabia in the future. “This [visit to Saudi Arabia] is on the table, there is no date yet,” Cohen told Israeli Army Radio during a state visit to Azerbaijan.
He also claimed that "at least one more" Arab country would normalize relations with Tel Aviv this year, before adding that the Saudi-Iran reconciliation could lead the kingdom to "move closer to Israel."
Last month, China stunned the world by mediating a historic reconciliation agreement between long-time adversaries Iran and Saudi Arabia. Since then, kingdom officials have worked to quickly reestablish ties with Syria and end Yemen's eight-year war.
The announcement of the agreement sparked alarm in "Israel," where the government and opposition traded blame for "weakening" the Israeli position, as the occupation had been confident Riyadh would soon normalize relations with it.
