A senior Hamas official urges Arab countries not to recognize Israel, as Saudi Arabia is being courted by the United States to join a small group of its neighbors in normalizing ties.
“We call on them not to normalize,” Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim tells AFP. “We call on all Arab countries, both those currently normalizing and those considering normalization, to step back from this.”
Israel and Saudi Arabia appeared to be on the cusp of a US-brokered normalization deal in October 2023, which stalled after the terror group’s brutal onslaught, with Riyadh shelving the matter amid Arab anger over Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump has brought the issue back to the table since taking office last month.
Saudi Arabia this week reiterated its stance against normalizing relations with Israel before a two-state solution has been reached, though Trump said that Riyadh hadn’t made the establishment of a Palestinian state a condition for a peace deal.
Your next read: ToI Editors' Picks
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Join The Times of Israel Community today and you'll receive a physical book of your choice, carefully curated by our editors.
Choose between two must-reads: When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a searing portrait of a mother’s grief and strength following unthinkable tragedy;
Or Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe by Matti Friedman, the gripping and surprising tale of a forgotten moment during World War II.
As a Community member, you’ll also enjoy our DocuNation series of outstanding Israeli documentary films, an ad-free experience of our site and podcasts, commenting privileges, and more.
CHOOSE YOUR BOOK
CHOOSE YOUR BOOK
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
