The Times of Israel’s diplomatic correspondent, Lazar Berman, asks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his press conference whether he still thinks normalization with Saudi Arabia is possible in the near future, given Riyadh’s pivot toward Turkey and Qatar and away from the United Arab Emirates.
Netanyahu says he has no wish to be an analyst of the Saudis, but he’s closely following such developments.
“We expect from anybody who wants normalization or peace with us that they not participate in efforts steered by forces or ideologies that want the opposite of peace,” Netanyahu says.
Such efforts “reject the legitimacy of the State of Israel, and nurture all kinds of forces that attack the State of Israel.”
He goes on to say that he’d be “happy to have a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia,” provided “they want normalization and peace with a secure and strong Israel.”
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
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