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Thursday, October 23, 2025
Smotrich on Saudi normalization: ‘No thank you, keep riding camels’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that he won’t agree to a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia if it means the establishment of a Palestinian state, dismissing Riyadh as being free to 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,” Smotrich says, speaking at a conference called “Halacha in the Technological Era” organized by the Zomet Institute and the Makor Rishon newspaper.
His comment has drawn criticism for its racist tone and comes amid plans by US President Donald Trump to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House next month 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 — something Smotrich and other members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government vehemently oppose.
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